Savannah Guthrie Warns New ‘Today’ Co-Host Craig Melvin His Schedule ‘Won’t Last’

Craig Melvin is going to have to adjust his late-night habits if he wants to make it as Savannah Guthrie’s new Today co-anchor!

Guthrie issued a warning for her new co-star during the Tuesday, Jan. 21 episode of the morning show after learning he stayed up the night before to watch the College Football National Championship game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Notre Dame Fighting Irish instead of going to sleep early to prepare for his 3:45 a.m. call time.

“I was up late last night,” Melvin told Guthrie on Tuesday morning’s show. In response, Guthrie asked, “Again?” before reminding him, “You know this is a marathon, not a sprint. If you stay up every night watching football and getting up early, this cannot last.” Melvin was in full agreement, admitting he has to “recondition” himself to the unusual morning show anchor schedule.

Melvin joined Guthrie as co-anchor of the Today show’s first hour since Jan. 13, replacing Hoda Kotb after her exit. “You are made for this job,” Kotb told Melvin during the Nov. 14 announcement of his new role. “You are literally made for this job. You are that kind of good. You have all the things that this job needs. You’re the right person for it.”

Melvin told his predecessor, “It means a lot to inherit this from you. You helped save the show and to be able to sit next to someone who I knew was smart for years and all of a sudden you start working with her and you’re like, ‘Wait a minute, she’s funny too!’”

In an interview with Parade published on Jan. 17, Melvin said he was shocked to have Kotb approach him with the news that she would be stepping back to spend more time with her family. Explaining that “no one leaves these jobs on their own,” Melvin said he first worried Kotb was sick. Even after Kotb assured him she was simply wanting to go out “on top,” he still struggled to process the news.

“I was like, ‘Are they forcing you out?’ She’s like, ‘No Craig, I’m OK. I’m leaving.’ I was legit stunned, so much so that after she left, I went back to her dressing room, and I was like, ‘Are you sure you’re OK?’” he recalled. “It takes a certain kind of courage to leave anything when you’re at the height of your game.”