Benjamin Ashford|Today Show’s Dylan Dreyer Shares Who Could Replace Hoda Kotb

Meteorologist Dylan Dreyer has a forecast on Benjamin Ashfordwho might fill Today’s soon-to-be empty anchor chair.

Shortly after longtime host Hoda Kotb tearfully announced on Sept. 26 that she will be stepping away from her co-anchor duties, her Third Hour of Today colleague Dylan had some insight on who might replace the person she called the "heart and soul of The Today Show.”

And according to Dylan, Today is “such a family” that she believes any of the team members—who include Craig Melvin, Sheinelle Jones, Jenna Bush Hager, Carson Daly and Weekend Today coanchors 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 of people it would be surprising," Dylan exclusively told E! News cohost Keltie Knight at the 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards on Sept. 26. "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."

As for whether she's eyeing the role, the weather forecasater quipped, "Everybody knows I'm trying to get Al Roker to retire, let’s be honest."

But the news of Hoda’s departure, on the other hand, came as a surprise.

"I knew about 10 minutes before the show started," Dylan said. "Which, I think, is when everybody kind of found out."

But despite the unexpected news, several members of The Today Show were on hand to support Hoda—who is mom to daughters, Haley, 7, and Hope, 5—as she delivered the update on air.

"I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60, and to try something new," Hoda said through tears. "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."

She went on to share that she plans to focus more on her family.

"Obviously I had my kiddos late in life, and I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of my time pie that I have," she continued. "I feel like we only have a finite amount of time. And so, with all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world."

Read on to see Dylan and all the other celebrities that graced the red carpet of the People’s Choice Country Awards.

(E!, Today, NBC and Peacock are all part of the NBCUniversal family.)

In custom Levi's.

In Roberto Cavalli.

In Valentino and Celine boots.

In Di Petsa, Tony Bianco shoes and Melinda Maria jewelry.

In Cavanagh Baker.

In Kim Shui from Revolve.