Following Friday’s naming of Savannah Guthrie as “Today” show co-anchor, NBC News president Steve Capus talked with THR’s Marisa Guthrie about the future of the show and the tumult of the past week.

“She really distinguished herself during the time she was at the White House,” Capus says of Guthrie. “I think we have thrown our weight behind someone who is a serious journalist, who is very smart, but not just book smart. She has the ability to communicate clearly and in an approachable manner.”

As for Curry’s stint at “Today,” Capus says, “I think it was not where her real passion was.”

We gave her a year to prove herself, and ultimately we came to the conclusion that she had played at the highest level she could. When you’re in the major leagues of our profession, you’ve got to continue to be at peak performance in order to stay there.

But my belief is a year from now when Ann has a shelf full of new awards for her journalistic work, she’s going to recognize that this is a real opportunity for the next phase of her career to go in a direction that suits her strengths.