The show joined ESPN Radio in 2004, rebranding as The Herd With Colin Cowherd, and four years later in 2008 would later be simulcast on ESPNU and ESPNews.

[2] During its run on ESPN, Cowherd was joined by on-air by producers Vincent Kates, David Fisch and Tom Wassell, and guest hosted by personalities such as Doug Gottlieb.

Also, Cowherd added a co-host role to the show, stating he hoped the position would be filled by someone who would use it to boost their career in the field, and that eventually the person would leave for a better opportunity.

On January 30, 2025, Cowherd formally announced his move to Chicago for The Herd, stating that a new studio will be built inside Big Ten Network's office in Rosemont, Illinois.

Colin has been viewed as a somewhat polarizing figure, and his audience has varying opinions of his program, from "the best daily sports talk show" to "Awful.

[16] However, he was also criticized for being self-contradictory, being unfunny during his attempts at humor,[17] as well as not featuring many interviews from sports figures, his tendency to lean towards discussing more controversial topics on-air,[18] and copying the style of Jim Rome.

[19] Following the move to Fox Sports Radio and Fox Sports 1, Gabe Zaldivar of Forbes found many faults with the program, focusing on the indulgently large studio, Jason Whitlock's Whitlock Wednesdays weekly segment, which he described as being "as exciting as your uncles fighting over who ate the last doughnut", and Kristine Leahy's lack of opportunities to speak as co-host.

[20] While on ESPN the regular fill-ins for Cowherd were Dave Rothenberg, Ryan Ruocco, Jorge Sedano, Linda Cohn, Adnan Virk, and Ryen Russillo.