It’s been one of the biggest stories on the television landscape all year—Who would ABC hire to replace Regis Philbin as Kelly Ripa’s co-host?
Apparently we now have an answer: NFL great Michael Strahan.
The genial, gap-toothed NFL single season sack record holder is currently in talks to become the new co-host of “Live!’ with Ripa.
Strahan, 40, is currently host of “Fox NFL Sunday” and was one of the 59 guests that has sat on the stool next to Ripa since Philbin left the show last November. In fact, Strahan has been a guest co-host several times.
A spokeswoman for “Live!” declined to comment on Philbin’s replacement, but several sites were quoting unnamed sources pegging Strahan as the guy. The story was first reported by Broadcasting & Cable. The official announcement is scheduled for Sept. 4, when the new co-host will join Ripa on stage.
Strahan has also tried his hand at acting, starring in a sitcom on Fox called “Brothers” in 2009 that didn’t last very long. He retired from the Giants in 2008, just four months after the team won the Super Bowl in his 15th season. When he retired, Strahan had recorded 141.5 career sacks, 794 career tackles, 4 career interceptions, 21 forced fumbles and 2 career touchdowns. He was also named to the Pro Bowl team seven times.
Philbin, 80, was the original host of “Live!” host and left after 28 years.
