Ervolino: What's next for Chris Christie? Radio? Reality TV? Pizza?

Governor Chris Christie bade farewell to the Garden State on Tuesday and, for months, Jerseyans have been speculating what his next move should be.

Among the more serious possibilities was the former governor becoming the drive-time host on the popular sports radio station WFAN. In February, Christie auditioned on the air, as a possible replacement for retiring host Mike Francesa, but that job went to Bart Scott, Maggie Gray and Chris Carlin.

Christie also had hopes for a high level position in the Trump White House, but concerns over those “traffic problems in Fort Lee” cast a big shadow.

Anyway, it’s 2018 and, at least for now, that’s all Watergate under the Bridgegate. Christie is still young (55) and, despite his low approval ratings, he is a good speaker who knows how to connect with an audience.

He has style! He has flair! (Should he become a nanny?)

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We put the question to readers on Wednesday: “What’s next for Chris Christie?” Responses ranged from nasty comments about his character and his weight to high praise for his campaign to battle opioid addiction.

A few folks said he should go into the beach chair rental business or become a toll collector on the GWB.

One reader, Carol Schindler of Morristown, wrote: “[He should] open a chain of pizza parlors. Slogan: Come in, sit down and shut up.”

Personally, we wouldn’t mind seeing more of him on TV, especially on MSNBC, where has often done well arguing his points with the station's more liberal-leaning talk show hosts. We think he might also do well as a substitute host for “Morning Joe” co-anchor Joe Scarborough, who has been essentially saying the same five or six sentences over and over again since the summer of 2016.

Four other possibilities:

Oprah's running mate

Ever since she purchased a stake in Weight Watchers and joined its board of directors, speculation has been rampant that Oprah Winfrey would run for chairman of that board. And every chairman needs a vice-chairman, right? Like Winfrey, Christie has had struggles dealing with width. It’s a subject he joked about on “Late Night with David Letterman” in an apparent attempt to prove he was a good sport about it and defuse the fat jokes.

During the Letterman interview, the then-Governor pulled a jelly doughnut out of his jacket pocket and proceeded to devour it. According to sources, it was actually a “prop doughnut” provided by the show. And Christie was initially uncomfortable about putting it in his jacket because the pocket already contained a pecan danish ring, a chocolate lava cake and three boxes of Milk Duds.

(Hey, if he can joke about, we can joke about it.)

Working with Oprah at WW would help Christie keep a high profile and enable him to pursue his goals to stay healthy. And we can already imagine the commercials: Christie, in the middle of a massive traffic jam, yelling, “Are your arteries clogged?”

Springsteen tour manager

It’s no secret that Christie’s adoration of Bruce Springsteen began in 1975 when Christie was 13 and Bruce was, on the strength of “Born To Run,” the breakout rocker of the decade. But when Christie turned to politics, there were problems. The Boss declined an invitation to perform at Christie’s inaugural gala. And the few times the two did meet in public, things were frosty. But then, along came Sandy.

The storm devastated parts of the state. And in a touching moment orchestrated by Barack Obama (The Prez), The Boss and The Guv put their ideologies aside for the love of their state. They made up. They embraced. They laughed. They cried. They went shopping for lamps at Pottery Barn.

And then?

After that unfortunate traffic situation in Fort Lee, Springsteen mocked the governor on Jimmy Fallon’s “Late Night” show. Months later, when Christie began his bid for the Republican nomination for president, he vehemently denied reports that Springsteen had forbade him to use any of his songs on the campaign trail. (Actually, what The Boss did say was that if Christie got the nomination and was running against Hillary Clinton, he could use “She’s the One” as his campaign song.)

Things deteriorated from there, which is why tour manager would be such a great post for Christie. He can be close to the rocker he loves and he can also tell him where to go.

Reality show star

As almost everyone knows by now, becoming a reality show star can lead to all sorts of interesting possibilities, from making it to the White House to marrying a rich rapper.

There’s always “Dancing with the Stars,” of course. (As many people know, Christie has always been light on his feet and was often referred to, in Princeton and Trenton, as “the Chaz Bono of Drumthwacket.”)

And he does have a certain Joey Fatone quality.

“Survivor” is another possibility. (Many New Jerseyans have said they’d love to see him eat a rat and jump off a cliff.)

But, we’d much rather see him on a new show like, say, “The Real Governors of New Jersey.”

Can’t you imagine them all out to dinner, screaming at each other? Close your eyes and you should have no problem seeing Gov. Whitman pulling Gov. Corzine’s mustache, or Gov. Florio tossing a drink at Gov. Kean. And then, the big showdown: Christie calling Gov. McGreevey “a crack prostitute” and throwing a table at him.

Ratings magic!

Radio DJ

We’ve always enjoyed Christie on sports radio. (More than one critic referred to him as “a natural.”) But what about music radio? Spinning the hits of the day? Or, the hits of yesterday? Or, whatever hits he can get his hands on?

Certainly, this was the career his parents envisioned for him. Why else would a couple who grew up listening to Casey Casem, Harry Harrison and “Dandy” Dan Daniels name their son Chris Christie?

We can imagine him on the air all day long, spinning the best of artists with New Jersey connections — Sinatra, Southside Johnny, Sarah Vaughn, Bruce, Whitney, Bon Jovi, Debbie Harry, George Clinton, Lauryn Hill and The Four Seasons, among many, many others.

Of course, he could play bands from elsewhere, too, just to mix things about a bit. Notable exceptions: Traffic, The Bridge, The Jam, the Beach Boys, Fats Domino, Chubby Checker, Bread, Cake and anyone who has ever recorded “Rock You Like a Hurricane.”