Willie Geist to Today…

The New York Times’ Brian Stelter scoops that Willie Geist will be getting the 9am Today show gig…

Mr. Geist will retain a role on “Morning Joe,” likely during the 6 a.m. hour, according to the people with knowledge of his new deal. He will stop hosting “Way Too Early,” the 5:30 a.m. newscast that has preceded “Morning Joe” for the last few years.

Mr. Geist’s existing contract was set to expire at the end of the month. There was talk about his possibly jumping to the lower-rated morning shows on CBS or CNN. But he decided to stay within NBC, where he was hired seven years ago to produce Tucker Carlson’s MSNBC talk show. Mr. Carlson frequently put him on the show, restarting a television career that had sputtered out at CNN years earlier.

Obvious questions: Does Way Too Early die with Geist’s departure? And what does this do to NBC’s pecking order of talent in waiting to get a shot on Today. At least this keeps Ryan Seacrest off the air five days a week (for the moment). All eyes will now turn to Weekend Today to see what happens on Saturdays since Amy Robach’s seat has not yet been permanently filled.