Craig Melvin will soon be stepping away from Today, and a familiar face is set to step into his cohosting spot.
Savannah Guthrie announced that sportscaster Mike Tirico will be joining her at the news desk next week to fill in for Craig, 45, as he heads out to spend spring break with his wife, Lindsay Czarniak, and their two kids, Delano, 11, and Sybil, 8.
“And by the way, we’ve got some special news! After Mike gets his fill of golf, all next week he’s going to join us right here in studio 1A,” Savannah, 53, revealed during an episode of the show on Thursday, April 10. “Craig’s going on Easter break with his kids. Tirico, you are going to fill in and cohost!”
“Are you ready?” she asked Mike, 58, who appeared virtually while reporting from a golf course.
“I was so excited about it and then I just watched Jon Hamm’s live audition and now I’m out. I can’t do this,” he said, referencing an earlier segment where Today guest Jon Hamm read lines off of the teleprompter while sitting down for an interview with Savannah.
“But no, Melvin showed he could host the Olympics when I was traveling back and forth so figure if we can try to go for an even trade here, I’m looking forward to being with y’all next week,” Mike continued about his colleague.
“It’s awesome. It’s all in the family. We love it,” Savannah said.
“This is also, by the way, literally the only job in television Mike Tirico has not done,” Craig chimed in, which made his colleagues laugh.
Today posted a clip of the exciting announcement on the show’s official Instagram page, sparking rousing reactions from fans.
“Have a great vacation Craig but having Mike fill in will be fun to watch,” one person commented on the post, while another person said, “Omg this is actually iconic!!!!”
“Mike is awesome!” another person commented.
Others responded to the news with hand clapping emojis in the comments section of the post.
Mike has been a sportscaster for more than 30 years and officially joined NBC Sports in 2016. Craig was promoted to Savannah’s coanchor after Hoda Kotb left Today in January to spend more time with her kids.
Mike was featured in a segment amid the news that Craig was going to become Savannah’s cohost, wishing him well and praising the broadcaster.
“This has to be the smoothest transition ever,” Mike said at the time.
“I’ll tell you why. He was elected by a super, super, super majority. He was the consensus choice. I’d say it was never really a choice. It was obvious,” Savannah replied.
“He is absolutely made for this job and for this moment,” she continued.
“Hopefully it’s not going to be that much different. I’ll get up a little earlier. Hoda gave me some advice,” Craig said of the new role. “If you start changing things, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Who you’ve been and what you’ve done has gotten you to where you are. I’m going to show up earlier. I’m going to bring Savannah a cup of coffee every morning. I think that’s all I can do.”