'Superstar' no more: Morris loses KFAN job

Morning drive-time host and former Viking Mike Morris is off the air at KFAN Radio (100.3 FM) amid reported layoffs by the station's parent company.

His sudden departure was a topic of discussion on the sports talk station Thursday afternoon during host Dan "The Common Man" Cole's show.

"He's gone," Cole said to listeners. "Everyone that I am getting e-mails from is disappointed."

Morris, known by his tongue-in-cheek nickname "Superstar," was an offensive lineman who specialized as a long snapper with the Vikings from 1991 to '99 before retiring.

Morris, 51, was the host of "The Power Trip" morning show, which aired weekdays from 6-9 a.m. He also co-hosted post-game shows after Vikings broadcasts on the station.

Messages left Thursday afternoon with Morris, station executives and Clear Channel officials were not returned.

Morris, whose dominant shtick played off the brains-vs.-brawn riff, began getting airtime at KFAN early in his 144-game tenure as a Viking. He started being a host about 10 years ago.

All Access, a radio industry website, said that KFAN's parent company rolled out numerous layoffs Thursday among its stations and that Morris was among those let go.

The site said it obtained a statement from the company that read, "Like every successful business, our strategy continues to evolve as we move forward as a company; this creates some new jobs, and unfortunately eliminates others. These are never easy decisions to make.

"In the process of making these recent changes, some employees were affected. We thank them for their service and wish them all the best for the future."

A playful Q&A on Morris' bio page asks what he'll be doing in his post-KFAN life: "I have an application in for Valleyfair. I'm hoping for the Ferris wheel."