Carson Daly Speaks Out About Replacing Matt Lauer On ‘Today’ [Video]

Carson Daly has been one of the most prominent names banded around to potentially replace Matt Lauer on Today following his firing for sexual misconduct last month, and now he’s speaking out about possibly taking on Matt’s former role. Though NBC has yet to reveal who will be taking over for the disgraced anchor on the morning show, Carson was recently asked if he’d be willing to sit in the vacant chair by awaiting paparazzi.

TMZ cameras caught up with The Voice host as he made his way through LAX airport earlier this week, where paparazzi asked the TV personality about if he’s considering taking on the vacant co-anchor role left by Matt.

Asking if replacing Lauer would be something he’d be interested in, Carson didn’t reveal too much about a possible new gig and instead responded, “I’m not thinking about that right now.”

Adding that his main focus right now is on hosting The Voice, which is currently in its thirteenth season and airing live episodes on Monday and Tuesday nights, Carson stayed firm when pressed for more information about him potentially nabbing the co-anchor slot.

“I don’t even… I mean, I don’t even think about that,” Daly once again clarified while speaking with paparazzi earlier this week. “I’m not even thinking about that.”

It’s not clear if NBC have formally approached Daly to potentially take over from Lauer, though fans have had some mixed responses to the star potentially replacing Matt. Lauer appeared on the NBC morning show for 20 years before being fired for alleged inappropriate behavior last week.

A slew of social media users threw in their two cents after seeing Daly’s recent conversation with paparazzi, and fans were both for and against him taking a more prominent role on the series.

“Whoa! Didn’t think that morning show can get any more of a snoozer,” one Today viewer hit back, while another sarcastically added, “Yeah that’s what he needs is another job lol.”

However, others threw their support around Carson landing a more permanent slot on the morning show, revealing on social media that they think he’d be a great fit to get a bigger role on the morning series.

Notably, Daly already has some big connections with NBC, which is likely why he’s regarded as one of the front runners to take over from Matt.

Carson also began appearing on Today as the show’s social media correspondent back in 2013, and has regularly appeared on the series alongside the show’s other anchors including Savannah Guthrie, Natalie Morales, and weather man Al Roker.

Entertainment Weekly also listed the TV personality as one of their seven picks to potentially replace Matt shortly after the news of his firing was confirmed, but claimed that seeing Daly join the panel in a more permanent slot was actually pretty “unlikely.”

The site stated late last month that NBC executives searching for Lauer’s replacement were allegedly looking for someone with a little more experience as a newsreader, as Carson’s past work is based more around presenting.

However, that hasn’t stopped Carson’s name being one of the most uttered when it comes to who could land the job.