Conversation so far:
When was Conan O'Brien's departure from Late Night with Conan O'Brien?
On February 20, 2009, NBC aired the last episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
Why did Conan O'Brien leave Late Night with Conan O'Brien?
In 2004, as part of a deal to secure a new contract, NBC announced that Conan O'Brien would leave Late Night in 2009.

Question: Did they try to keep him or was he forced to leave?
Self-contained rewrite: Did NBC try to keep Conan O'Brien or was he forced to leave?