Steve Cochran

Three years after he left WGN AM 720, Steve Cochran was back on the Tribune Broadcasting news/talk station Tuesday.

Filling in for vacationing morning host Jonathon Brandmeier, Cochran picked up where he left off without missing a beat: "This morning I'm just walking by [Tribune Tower], minding my own business," he joked with overnight host Bill Leff. "The lights are on, I know the security guys, so I come in, plug in some headphones and figure I'll do a show. What's so wrong with that?" 

Cochran has been a free agent since he chose not to renew his contract as afternoon host at WIND AM 560 and parted company after nearly two years with the Salem Communications news/talk station last week. In a statement to advertisers, WIND called the decision "a mutual one between Steve and station," adding: "We wish him well in his future endeavors."

Jimmy deCastro, who's been president and general manager of WGN since May, said he has no deal with Cochran but hoped to include him in plans to improve the station.

"We haven't even talked about an agreement because he's just doing fill-ins," deCastro told me in an interview. "I know Cochran really well. I love him. I'd love to figure out if there's a way to have him in WGN's family. I don't know. I'm doing research and looking at a lot of stuff. I want him to fill in on different dayparts — mornings, middays, afternoons — and hear what happens."

Cochran previously worked for deCastro at the Loop and AM 1000 in the '90s, when deCastro headed parent companies Evergreen Media, Chancellor Media and AMFM Inc.

A Chicago radio fixture since 1993, Cochran spent 10 years at WGN in a variety of shifts. Poised to take over mornings until contract talks soured with previous management, he was forced out in June 2010. He joined WIND in October 2011. Meanwhile, Cochran continues to double as 10 a.m. to noon weekday host on KTRS AM 550 in St. Louis.

In a statement confirming previously reported programming moves Monday, deCastro said: “We're making changes in an effort to give Chicagoans more of the things they want to hear. Thank you to our WGN Radio listeners, the most loyal and attentive family for helping us navigate through this, and stay tuned for the best of the old and new coming soon.”