Is there anything Mike Tirico can’t do? He’s been a SportsCenter anchor, play-by-play man, Olympic host, event host, and pretty much everything in between in the sports world. And now he can add morning show host to the resume as he has filled in for Craig Melvin on NBC’s Today show.
Melvin has been off this week while he enjoys an Easter break with his family (including his wife, another former SportsCenter anchor in Lindsay Czarniak). And NBC tapped Tirico to fill in during his brief absence.
While you might think this would be the time of year for Mike Tirico to be taking it easy with football in its offseason and no Olympic duty to speak of in 2025, you would be very much mistaken. Not only is he filling in on Today this week alongside Savannah Guthrie, he also just got done calling the Masters on radio.
Here he is doing an Easter decorating segment with Martha Stewart and seeming like he has been doing the morning show routine for years.
So how have regular Today show viewers received Tirico as a guest host? As you would expect, he is receiving rave reviews with plenty of fans hoping he would be on the show more regularly.
Can Mike Tirico always be on the Today Show?
— River Rat (@RiverRat89) April 16, 2025
Good to see @miketirico on my tv this morning despite it not football season or the Olympics.
— Captain Fireball (@BiggestTexanFan) April 16, 2025
I love that @miketirico is on @TODAYshow he should be a regular!
— Allie Carpenter (@milehighminis) April 16, 2025
So refreshing to see @miketirico on @TODAYshow
While his primary gig is of course @NBCSports and @GolfChannel he is doing a great job this morning. Def impressive— TLea (@tleany) April 15, 2025
Loving @miketirico on the @TODAYshow this morning. What a nice surprise!
— Patti Cooke (@PattiCooke) April 15, 2025
@miketirico is terrific guest hosting on the @TODAYshow. I just saw a video clip. He should be the co-anchor @nbc @NBCNews Mike is intelligent, endearing, he has a great presence, connects well with the audience and he has the perfect voice for this role.
— Mary Frost (@mlfrostmi) April 15, 2025
Sports figures on morning network shows has become a common phenomenon in recent years. Michael Strahan is now a regular on Good Morning America and that came after Robin Roberts made the transition from ESPN SportsCenter anchor to ABC News. Nate Burleson is now a co-host on CBS Mornings. Jim Nantz also recently revealed that he had an offer to do the CBS morning show twenty years ago, but ultimately turned it down to remain in the sports world.
It’s clear Mike Tirico could slide over and do morning news whenever he wants. His schedule will get a little busier on the sports side of things at NBC next season when he not only calls the NFL and hosts the Olympics, but also becomes the lead play-by-play man for the return of the NBA on NBC.
But with how well this week has gone for him on Today, if there is a break in that schedule next year maybe we will see him make another cameo at 30 Rock.