Does NBC See Howard Stern as Jimmy Fallon's Replacement (After Jimmy Fallon Replaces Jay Leno)?

When the rumor began circulating over the weekend that NBC was prepping its latest plan to retire Jay Leno as The Tonight Show host and replace him with Jimmy Fallon, people immediately began speculating who would then replace Fallon as host of Late Night. I saw a few ridiculous suggestions from reputable sites, with the dumbest one probably being Tina Fey. Late Night is a proving ground. Fey has already more than proven herself. Why would she give up an expanding movie career to spend every night at 12:30? Never gonna happen. Yes, she's a Saturday Night Live/Lorne Michaels person like Fallon is, but before finding success as the host of Late Night, Fallon was stuck in a failed post-SNL movie career . If you saw Taxi, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

So if Fey (obviously) won't be Fallon's replacement at the Late Night desk under this hypothetical shuffling of deck chairs at NBC, who could be? Well, if a New York Post report knows what it's talking about, the network is envisioning talk radio personality and America's Kidz Got Singing, er, America's Got Talent judge Howard Stern for the role.

Sources close to the radio man tell The Post that Stern, in turn, is being “groomed” by NBC as the new Fallon. ... Howard has been trying to show TV suits for years that he’s the whole package — as opposed to the one he talks about on the radio. He’s shown — on “AGT,” one of the most popular family shows on TV — that he can act like a grown-up and play well with others, if the money’s right. And, according to a source who knows him well, the suits at NBC have gotten the message.

While the Post article goes on to talk about how America's Got Talent has increased Stern's appeal to an entirely new audience, I don't see this one happening. As I mentioned above, Late Night is like The Tonight Show with training wheels, the junker NBC gives a host to make sure he won't crash the fancy car. Stern doesn't need to prove himself. And he isn't the future host of The Tonight Show. Look at Fallon and Conan O'Brien before him. Young guys who used Late Night to establish themselves as credible late-night hosts. The Post is right looking at a guy with NBC connections, but Stern won't be the guy.