VIDEO: Stephen A. Smith Announces His Return to SiriusXM Live on the Howard Stern Show

Stephen A. Smith is taking his talents back to SiriusXM.

The author, journalist, soap opera star, and sports-talk legend returned to the Stern Show on Wednesday morning, sitting down with Howard to chat about everything from the recent firing of New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau to the latest developments in Smith’s love life. But first Stephen A. hit Howard and his listeners with a game-changing announcement:

“I’m coming back to SiriusXM,” Stephen A. revealed, explaining to Howard that he’d signed a multi-year deal to host and executive produce two new, original shows on SiriusXM, beginning in September. “I’ll be on Mad Dog Sports Radio … and I’m also having my own political show.”

Howard was delighted that his guest, one of the biggest names in sports, would also soon become his SiriusXM colleague. “Let me welcome you because you know I’m a fan, and you know I like your honesty [and] opinions,” he said. “I’m all for it.”

Considering the new sports-talk show would be airing on a SiriusXM channel named after Stephen A.’s friend and “First Take” collaborator Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, Howard did have one follow-up question: “Is Mad Dog your boss?” Howard joked.

“I assure you that is not the case,” Smith responded with a smile. “He has his show, and I have mine. But I will tell you this: I insisted on being on his channel because I love Doggie.”

“He’s a really, really good man,” Stephen A. continued of Mad Dog. “He means the world to me, and if I was going to do a sports talk show on SiriusXM there was only one place I’d want to do it, and that was on his channel.”

The conversation soon turned to the New York Knicks, who fired head coach Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday after his team was eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals. Considering the Knicks had just made their deepest playoff run in about 25 years, Howard couldn’t help but wonder if his guest thought the coach’s sudden and unexpected firing was fair.

“It seems unfair,” Smith responded. “I don’t like it because the man took you within two games of an NBA Finals.”

While Stephen A. believed it was perfectly reasonable to criticize Thibodeau for everything from his notoriously tight player rotation to how his team blew a big lead in Game 1 of the conference finals, he also believed the coach had proved too much over the past two seasons to be dismissed without any explanation to the fans.

“My issue [is] that if you’re going to let go of a man who has produced so much for you, do you have the decency to stand before the media and give us an explanation as to why?” Smith said, adding, “New York Knicks fans deserve better than what they get in terms of simply hearing from these guys as to what they’re doing [and] why they’re doing it.”

Check out more clips from Howard and Stephen A. Smith’s candid conversation (below) and tune into SiriusXM in September when Stephen A. launches his two new shows.