Bryant Gumbel Bryant Charles Gumbel ( born September 29 , 1948 ) is an American television journalist and sportscaster . He is best known for his 15 years as co - host of NBC ' s " The Today Show " . He is the younger brother of sportscaster Greg Gumbel . Life and career . Early life . Gumbel was born in New Orleans , Louisiana . He is the son of Rhea Alice ( née LeCesne ) , a city clerk , and Richard Dunbar Gumbel , a judge . He attended and was graduated from De La Salle Institute in Chicago , IL . , while growing up on the South Side of the city . He graduated from Bates College in 1970 . In 1971 , he became editor of " Black Sports Magazine " , leaving the following year . Gumbel began his television career in October 1972 , when he was made a sportscaster for KNBC - TV out of Los Angeles . Professional career . NBC Sports . Gumbel was hired by NBC Sports in the fall of 1975 as co - host of its National Football League pre - game show " GrandStand " with Jack Buck . From 1975 until January 1982 ( when he left to do " The Today Show " ) Gumbel hosted numerous sporting events for NBC including Major League Baseball , college basketball and the National Football League . Gumbel returned to sportscasting for NBC when he hosted the prime time coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics from Seoul and the PGA Tour in 1990 . One of Gumbel ' s more memorable moments during his time at NBC Sports occurred in 1982 , when he was on - site for the " Epic in Miami " NFL playoff game between the San Diego Chargers and Miami Dolphins . At the end of the game , Gumbel told the viewing audience " If you didn ' t like this football game then you don ' t like football ! " " Today " . Gumbel began his affiliation with " Today " as the program ' s chief sports reporter contributing twice - weekly features to the program , including a regular series entitled " Sportsman of the Week , " featuring up - and - coming athletes . In June 1981 , NBC announced that Tom Brokaw would depart " Today " to anchor the " NBC Nightly News " with Roger Mudd beginning in the spring of 1982 . The search for Brokaw ' s replacement was on , and the initial candidates were all NBC News correspondents , including John Palmer , Chris Wallace , Bob Kur , Bob Jamieson , and Jessica Savitch . The candidates auditioned for Brokaw ' s job throughout the summer of 1981 when Brokaw was on vacation . Gumbel became a candidate for the job just by chance when he served as a last - minute substitute for " Today " co - anchor Jane Pauley in August 1981 . Gumbel so impressed executive producer Steve Friedman and other NBC executives that he quickly became a top contender for the " Today " anchor position . While Friedman and other NBC executives favored Gumbel as Brokaw ' s replacement , another contingent within the NBC News division felt strongly that Brokaw should be replaced by a fellow news correspondent , not a sports reporter . Chris Wallace was the favored candidate of then - NBC News president Bill Small . NBC News decided to split the difference , selecting Gumbel as the program ' s anchor and Wallace as the Washington - based anchor . Jane Pauley would remain co - anchor in New York . Brokaw signed off of " Today " on December 18 , 1981 , and Gumbel replaced Brokaw on January 4 , 1982 . The Gumbel - Pauley - Wallace arrangement , known internally as the " Mod Squad , " lasted only nine months . It was an arrangement that proved intriguing on paper but unwieldy on television . Gumbel served as the show ' s traffic cop , opening and closing the program and conducting New York - based interviews , but Pauley and Wallace handled newsreading duties , and Wallace conducted all Washington - based hard news interviews . With ABC ' s " Good Morning America " in first place and expanding its lead , NBC News made Gumbel the principal anchor of " Today " beginning September 27 , 1982 , with Jane Pauley as his co - anchor . Wallace became chief White House correspondent covering President Reagan , and John Palmer , previously a White House correspondent , became " Today " ' s New York - based news anchor . Gumbel and Pauley had a challenging first two years together as " Today " anchors as they sought to find a rhythm as a team . " Good Morning America " solidified its lead over " Today " in the ratings during the summer of 1983 , and Pauley ' s departure for maternity leave sent " Today " into a ratings tailspin . But when Pauley returned in February 1984 , she and Gumbel began to work well together as a team . NBC took " Today " on the road in the fall of ' 84 , sending Gumbel to the Soviet Union for an unprecedented series of live broadcasts from Moscow . Gumbel won plaudits for his performance in Moscow , erasing any doubts about his hard - news capabilities . That Moscow trip began a whirlwind period of travel for " Today " . Remote broadcasts from Vietnam , Vatican City , Europe , South America , and much of the United States followed between 1984 and 1989 . " Today " began to regain its old ratings dominance against " Good Morning America " throughout 1985 , and by early 1986 , the NBC program was once again atop the ratings . In 1989 , Gumbel , who was already known for his strong management style as " Today " anchor , wrote a memo to " Today " executive producer Marty Ryan , on Ryan ' s request , critiquing the program and identifying its shortcomings . Many of Gumbel ' s criticisms were directed at fellow " Today " staffers . This memo was leaked to the press . In the memo , Gumbel commented that Willard Scott , " holds the show hostage to his assortment of whims , wishes , birthdays and bad taste . . . This guy is killing us and no one ' s even trying to rein him in " . He commented that Gene Shalit ' s movie reviews " are often late and his interviews aren ' t very good . " There was enough negative backlash in regard to Gumbel ' s comments toward Scott , that Gumbel was shown making up with Scott on " Today " . Following Jane Pauley ' s departure from " Today " in December 1989 , Gumbel was joined by Deborah Norville in a short - lived partnership that lasted just over a year . " Today " dropped to second place in the ratings during this period as a result of intensely negative publicity surrounding Norville ' s replacement of Pauley , and Gumbel ' s feud with Scott . Norville was replaced by Katie Couric in April 1991 , and the Gumbel - Couric team helped refocus " Today " as the morning news program on public affairs during the 1992 presidential campaign . The program returned to first place in the ratings in December 1995 . Gumbel ' s work on " Today " earned him several Emmys and a large group of fans . He is the second longest serving co - host of " Today " , serving two months less than Couric . Gumbel stepped down from the show on January 3 , 1997 after 15 years . " Public Eye with Bryant Gumbel " . After 15 years on the Today show , Bryant Gumbel moved to CBS to host a new prime time news - magazine called " Public Eye with Bryant Gumbel " during the 1997 - 1998 television season . The show lasted just one season before being cancelled . The show aired on Wednesday nights between 9 and 10 pm . " The Early Show " . After leaving the " Today Show " and " Dateline NBC " in 1997 , Gumbel moved to CBS , where he hosted various shows before becoming co - host of the network ' s morning show " The Early Show " on November 1 , 1999 . Gumbel left " The Early Show " ( and CBS that same year ) in May 2002 . He returned to his morning television roots when , in the spring and summer of 2010 , he served as special guest moderator of ABC ' s " The View " for multiple days . " Boy Scouts " . A CBS camera caught a disgusted Bryant Gumbel blurting out " What a fucking idiot " just after he had finished a hostile interview with Robert Knight of the Family Research Council ( FRC ) . The incident occurred at about 7 : 15 a . m . ET on Thursday , June 29 , 2000 following Knight ' s appearance to defend the Boy Scout policy of excluding gays from being leaders . The Media Research Center reported that he uttered those words ; Gumbel openly admitted to saying so when guest - hosting a June 2007 episode of " Live with Regis and Kelly " . " Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel " . Gumbel has concentrated most of his energy recently on his duties as host of HBO ' s acclaimed investigative series " Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel " ( a show that he has hosted since 1995 ) . HBO ' s web page claims that " Real Sports " has been described as " flat out TV ' s best sports program " by the " Los Angeles Times " . Also according to HBO , " Real Sports " has earned 15 sports Emmys , and a 2006 Alfred I . duPont - Columbia University Award for broadcast journalism , the first time in the award ' s history that it was given to a sports program . The award was for a story called " The Sport of Sheikhs " , an investigation into the exploitation of children as camel jockeys in the United Arab Emirates . Controversial remarks . In February 2006 , Gumbel made remarks regarding the Winter Olympics and the lack of African - American participation . On the August 15 , 2006 episode of " Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel " , Gumbel made the following remarks about former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue and Players ' Union president Gene Upshaw and directed these comments to new commissioner Roger Goodell : In response , Tagliabue said : Gumbel ' s response was : On the October 18 , 2011 episode , Gumbel evoked slavery in his criticism of NBA Commissioner David Stern over the league ' s lockout . The Weather Man . Gumbel made a cameo appearance alongside Nicolas Cage and Michael Caine in " The Weather Man " , a film directed by Gore Verbinski . In the film , Gumbel co - hosts a morning show entitled " Hello America " for which Cage ' s character , a depressed weatherman , auditions . The NFL Network . In April 2006 , the NFL Network announced that Gumbel , along with Cris Collinsworth and Dick Vermeil , would commentate on its new package of NFL games . Unlike his brother Greg , Bryant had never called play - by - play for live sporting events in his career . Before his first game commentary for the network , Gumbel ' s status was brought into question after he stirred up controversy in his closing remarks on his HBO program on August 15 , 2006 , in which he criticized NFL Players Association head Gene Upshaw and outgoing NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue . Gumbel would later reconcile with the NFL and retained his play - by - play job with the NFL Network . On December 29 , 2007 , Gumbel had a reunion of sorts as he called the Patriots - Giants game on the NFL Network , CBS , and NBC . This is the first 3 - network simulcast NFL game and coincidentally Gumbel has worked for all three networks during his career . He also had a strong affiliation with NFL films . Gumbel was fired as play - by - play announcer in April 2008 , prior to the 2008 NFL season . He would be replaced on the NFL Network telecasts by Bob Papa . Personal life . In October 2009 , Bryant Gumbel had surgery to remove a malignant tumor near his lung .