Originally appeared on E! Online
Meteorologist Dylan Dreyer has a prediction on who might fill “Today’s” soon-to-be empty anchor chair.
Shortly after longtime host Hoda Kotb tearfully announced Sept. 26 that she would step down as co-anchor, her “Third Hour Today” colleague Dreyer had an idea of who could replace the person she called the “heart and soul.” from “The Today Show.”
And according to Dreyer, “Today” is “such a family” that she thinks everyone on the team — including Craig Melvin, Sheinelle Jones, Jenna Bush Hager, Carson Daly and the “Weekend Today” co-anchors Peter Alexander and Laura Jarrett – have the talent to take over alongside co-anchor Savannah Guthrie.
“I don’t think if they named anyone in our core group it would be surprising,” Dreyer exclusively told E! Keltie Knight, news co-anchor at People’s Choice Country Awards 2024 September 26. “We all filled in along the way when someone was away. I don’t know if anyone has made a decision yet, but if it’s one of the main group members, I really don’t think it’s that surprising.”
As for whether she’s considering the role, the weatherman joked, “Everyone knows I’m trying to get Al Roker to retire, let’s be honest.”
But the news of Kotb’s departure came as a surprise.
“I knew about 10 minutes before the show started,“, Dreyer said. “Which, I think, that’s when everyone found out.”
But despite the unexpected news, several members of “The Today Show” were on hand to support Kotb — who is mother to daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 5 — as she gave the on-air update .
Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager recently celebrated the fifth anniversary of “TODAY with Hoda and Jenna” with a party in Bermuda at Loren at Pink Beach.
“I realized it was time for me to turn the page at 60 and try something new,” Kotb said through tears. “I remember standing outside looking at this beautiful group of people with these beautiful signs, and I was like, ‘This is what the top of the wave looks like to me.’ And I thought it couldn’t get any better, and I decided it was the right time for me to move on.”
She went on to share that she plans to focus more on her family.
“Obviously, I had my children late in life and I thought they deserved a greater share of my time than I did,” she continued. “I feel like we only have a limited amount of time. And so, with all that being said, it’s the hardest thing in the world.”
(E!, “Today,” NBC and Peacock are all part of the NBCUniversal family.)
