Michael Strahan to replace Regis Philbin as co-host of Live! with Kelly Ripa on ABC

Michael Strahan will make the leap from NFL to TV co-host on Live! alongside Kelly Ripa. (Elsa/Getty Images)

Former New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan will reportedly replace Regis Philbin as the new co-host of Live! alongside Kelly Ripa on ABC, according to a report from BroadcastingCable.com.

According to Roger Friedman of ShowBiz411.com, Grammy award-nominee Josh Groban and SNL funnyman Seth Meyers were also in the running to replace Philbin, who retired from the show in 2011. Strahan had been a guest-host while the network tested new candidates to permanently replace Philbin.

An official announcement from ABC is expected in early September.

According to the report, Strahan will still remain an analyst with Fox NFL Sunday, which means he will spend part of his week in the New York studio with ABC and then spend part of his weekend at the Los Angeles studio for Fox.