Out of nowhere, former ESPNer Josh Elliott reportedly being ‘eyed’ for ‘CBS Mornings’ job

It appears that CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss has an affinity for former ESPN talent.

After reports surfaced earlier this week that Weiss had “repeatedly” discussed hiring former SportsCenter anchor Sage Steele as a co-host on CBS Mornings, it looks like Weiss is more seriously considering a different former ESPN anchor. According to a report by Natalie Korach in Status, there is “serious interest” in hiring Josh Elliott as a possible third host for the show alongside Gayle King and Nate Burleson, both of whom will seemingly stay with the network.

Per Korach, “Elliott visited CBS News in recent months for an on-camera audition, signaling the network’s interest in him.” CBS Mornings is expected to feature several guest hosts in the coming weeks, some of which will be seen as tryouts for the permanent job. Elliott will “likely” be among the anchors trying out.

Elliott has been in the TV anchor version of witness protection for years. His last official job entry on his Wikipedia page is from 2018, when he co-hosted a four-episode series called Yellowstone Live for National Geographic.

Elliott first joined ESPN in 2004, with his most recognizable assignment for the network coming in 2008, when he began anchoring the 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET SportsCenter alongside Hannah Storm. In 2011, Elliott bolted for ABC’s Good Morning America where he stayed for three years before departing for NBC. At NBC, Elliott was seen as a potential successor to Matt Lauer on Today, but that never came to fruition. After a bit over a year of contributing primarily to NBC’s sports coverage, Elliott left the network. Come 2016, Elliott completed the trifecta of major broadcast channels, joining CBS’s digital news service CBSN. However, less than a year later, Elliott announced on his CBSN show that he’d be leaving after a CBS executive told him he’d be placed in a larger role on CBS News’ television programming. The abrupt announcement caught CBS executive off-guard as most were unaware of plans to promote him. Elliott was fired days later.

Ever since, Josh Elliott has been persona non grata in the world of television. He is still most remembered for his tenure at ESPN, which ended 15 years ago. It makes his courting by CBS News a curious one. Having not held any jobs of significance in almost 10 years, does Elliott still have what it takes to be a competent television anchor?

It sounds like viewers will get a chance to see for themselves, assuming Elliott does tryout for the gig.