New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers wasn’t playing around when he got the opportunity to host Jeopardy!
Following the passing of legendary Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek in 2020, the show’s producers were left with an important decision to make: who to name as his replacement.
Many Jeopardy! viewers assumed that the current host, Ken Jennings, would automatically become Alex’s replacement, but that wasn’t the case.
Producers decided it would be best to test out guest hosts to get an idea of who would make the best permanent host on Jeopardy!
Several different would-be hosts tried out for the coveted spot, including some big names such as Katie Couric, Anderson Cooper, Robin Roberts, and Mayim Bialik.
Producer Mike Richards was one of the guest hosts, and during a recent chat with PEOPLE, he opened up about his short-lived hosting gig as well as the other guest hosts.
Mike – who was fired from his position after just one day on the job – shared that Aaron Rodgers really wanted the job because he is a longtime fan of Jeopardy!
Jets QB Aaron Rodgers was the ‘most prepared’ to take over Alex Trebek’s Jeopardy! hosting gig
“Aaron Rodgers was definitely the most prepared,” he said of the 40-year-old NFL star. “I was blown away by that, the intensity in which he prepped, and he was so lovely to everyone on staff.”
“But ultimately I worried about his other job that he does on a pretty high level. I was like, ‘How are you going to work this out with football scheduling?’ He said.
“‘You’ll figure it out,'” Mike added.
Aaron Rodgers shared how much fun he had hosting Jeopardy!
April 5, 2021, was Aaron’s first night hosting Jeopardy!, and he took to Instagram to share his excitement.
Aaron uploaded several photos of himself on stage, holding his cue cards and looking sharp in a navy blue suit as he prepared to fill Alex Trebek’s shoes.
In the caption, the Chico, California, native included a hashtag describing the hosting position as his “Dream Job 2.”
“I’m hosting my favorite game show ever @jeopardy starting tonight for the next two weeks!!! 💪🏼💪🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼,” he wrote. “Check your local listings for show times in your area #dreamjob2 #alextrebekforever #turdferguson.”
In another Instagram post dated April 14, 2021, Aaron shared some photos of the podium, including some sticky notes with reminders for himself as he hosted.
Some of the sticky note reminders read, “Speak Less,” “Slow Down,” “Stand Up Straight,” “Relax,” “Energy,” and “Don’t Pick Your Nose/Butt.”
As he wrote in his caption, the last reminder was “just to check if anyone was looking at my podium between games.”
“Turns out, John the stage manager was, and we had a good laugh about it,” Aaron added.