Hoda Kotb has been a co-anchor on Today with Savannah Guthrie since 2018, but the 2025 TV schedule will officially go on without her. Since Kotb announced her exit in September, the question high on the minds of viewers (and surely the network) has been regarding who would be her replacement.

Hoda Kotb and Craig Melvin had a secret code phrase for referring to him replacing her ahead of the official announcement on Today. Melvin, 45, told The New York Times in an interview published on Thursday,

Staffers chanted, “Craig, Craig, Craig!” at a staff meeting when Savannah Guthrie welcomed them to the “Craig era!”