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Who Will Replace Hoda Kotb on ‘Today’? Here Are Five Possibilities.
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Who Will Replace Hoda Kotb on ‘Today’? Here Are Five Possibilities.

After six years as co-anchor of TodayNBC’s morning show’s signature show, Hoda Kotb, is stepping down to focus on her family. She announced the decision Thursday morning, and social media immediately erupted in speculation about who would replace her.

Kotb and Guthrie were the show’s first all-female anchor team. Kotb began her career at NBC as a correspondent with Date linetransitioning to co-hosting the final hour of Today with Katie Lee Gifford, who enriched the program with heart and humor.

Finding the right replacement for Kotb, who said she wanted to be home with the two young girls she adopted in recent years, is critical for NBC. Today is ranked number one by rival Good Morning America on ABC among adults 25 to 54, and the network does not want to lose that lucrative position.

NBC News has not yet commented on who might replace Kotb, the daughter of Egyptian immigrants. Here are five possible choices.

1. Jena Bush Hager

Hager seems the obvious choice. She’s already presenting the last hour of Today with Kotb, with whom she shares an easy chemistry. Young women love Hager’s relatability as a young mother, and she’s a popular presence on social media. She lacks the hard-news skills often needed on morning shows — Kotb had a rare ability to switch between drinking wine with Gifford and discussing the economy — but Savannah Guthrie is very strong on hard news, so that might not be a problem.

2. Laura Jarrett

Jarrett ticks all the boxes. Muscle-smart and already a member of the Saturday Today crew, Jarrett is also NBC’s senior legal correspondent. She would bring gravitas to the co-host slot, and she and Guthrie would provide a formidable hard news presence. Her frequent posts about her adorable children on Instagram also make her relatable to Today‘s viewers. The Harvard Law School graduate, who covered Donald Trump’s hush-money trial earlier this year, began her career at CNN.

3. Willie Geest

Like Hager, Geist is already a member of the Today team, which hosts the Sunday edition. He also co-hosts MSNBC’s Good morning Joe and appears as a substitute newsreader on weekdays Today. He already has an easy chemistry with the crew. But NBC may want to keep the female-female partnership that helped propel it GMA in the reviews. And Geist’s Good morning Joe ties could make him too “political” (whether or not that is true) in a divided age when morning hosts must appeal to all sections.

4. Carson Daly

Daly seems a less likely choice, but he is already part of Todayand the network has shown in the past that it is happy to promote from within for this role. As a former MTV personality, Daly has the pop culture knowledge and connections that are important for a morning news show. But like Hager, he has not shown a particular ability with hard news, and that will likely influence the network’s decision.

5. Sheinelle Jones

Jones co-hosts the third hour of Todayand she has become a crowd favorite. They love getting updates on her three kids, and Jones’ down-to-earth approach to work-life balance has earned her a strong following on social media. The Philly native is known as a hard-working woman and has been Today for 10 years. If she or Jarrett were selected, they would Today‘s first black female co-host.