Dylan Dreyer gave a very honest answer when she was asked if she is eyeing Hoda Kotb’s job after the host announced her departure from Today.
“Everybody knows I’m trying to get Al Roker to retire, let’s be honest,” the meteorologist playfully told E! News when asked about Hoda’s exit from the talk show. Obviously, the comment was a joke.
Al, 70, has not announced any plans to leave the program after 28 years. It was Hoda, 60, who publicly announced that she would be leaving Today during an episode of the talk show on Thursday, September 26. She sent around a letter to staffers before breaking down in tears during the broadcast as she revealed the reason behind her decision.
“I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60, and to try something new,” Hoda explained as her cohosts broke down in tears around her. “I remembered standing outside looking at these beautiful bunch of people with these gorgeous signs, and I thought, ‘This is what the top of the wave feels like for me.’ And I thought it can’t get better, and I decided that this is the right time for me to kind of move on.”
So far, NBC has not yet announced who Hoda’s replacement will be in the early morning hours of Today and the show’s fourth hour with Jenna Bush Hager. However, she did say that she will mark her final episode of the talk show in early 2025 and will still remain part of the NBC family.
Dylan opened up about who could potentially replace Hoda when she leaves the program officially next year.
“I don’t think if they named anyone in our core group of people it would be surprising,” the weathercaster told the outlet while attending the 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards on Thursday. “We’ve all filled in along the way when somebody’s out. I don’t know if anybody’s made any decisions yet, but if it’s one of the core group, I really don’t think it’s that surprising.”
Dylan Dreyer Is ‘Trying to Get Al Roker to Retire’
While she is sad to see Hoda go, she understands that the mom of two wants to spend more time with her two kids, Haley and Hope, whom she shares with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman.
“I don’t think it’s bad news at all,” Dylan, who shares kids Calvin, Oliver and Russell with husband Brian Fichera, told Us Weekly at the country music event. “I’m not surprised that Hoda’s living her life and doing what she wants to do. We’re sad. I mean, I love working with her, but Hoda and I are also neighbors so I’m still going to see Hoda all the time.”
“Selfishly, I still get to keep that friend that we’ve all known and loved,” Dylan added while attended the awards ceremony held at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. “But it’s a family. Whenever anybody leaves, I think we feel it. But she’s still going to be part of our family and I applaud her for taking the chance and having the guts to do the next thing she wants to do, not on anyone else’s terms.”
