David Gregory was nowhere to be seen on Sunday's "Meet the Press."
Andrea Mitchell, NBC News chief foreign correspondent, hosted the show instead. She paid tribute to Gregory and his career of over 20 years with the network.
"'Meet the Press' makes a lot of history -- and a great deal of it was with David at the helm since he started in December 2008," she said near the end of Sunday's show. Mitchell highlighted Gregory's interview with Joe Biden, in which the vice president came out in support of gay marriage, as well as the GOP primary debate Gregory moderated in 2012.
"In 20 years with NBC News, David has done it all: The OJ Simpson trial, Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City bombing, 'Today Show' guest-hosting and, when the cameras weren’t rolling, dead on-imitations of everyone from presidents of the United States to Tom Brokaw," Mitchell continued. "Through all the years, David has been true to the traditions of the program and NBC News."
Indeed, those were happier times for Gregory, who was just replaced as host of "Meet the Press" on Thursday. Gregory has also left the network, which named Chuck Todd his successor on the show.
He did not get a final show to say farewell on air, reportedly because the network did not want another "Ann Curry moment" on its hands. Whatever the reason, the move will surely draw scrutiny from critics who have already piled on the network for the way it has handled the situation.
CNN's Don Lemon, for example, tweeted Sunday: