With "Today's" ratings plummeting as ABC's "Good Morning America" on the rise, nervous NBC execs may place the blame on Couric, who has become increasingly acerbic through the years.

According to the Post the two new stars are Alexis Glick, a "Today" regular, and Natalie Morales, an MSNBC news host and also a "Today" regular who sometimes fills in for Couric.

"What you're seeing is the development of a bench," a "Today" insider said. Glick began as a top executive of Wall Street's Morgan Stanley, where she was the first woman ever to manage the floor operation at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) for a top Wall Street firm.

She then switched careers , going to work at CNBC as their senior trading correspondent, appearing live from the NYSE on a daily basis for CNBC's free-wheeling morning program "Squawk Box" and on other financial programming throughout the day. After coming back from maternity leave - she has two children - Kaplan reports that NBC chief Jeff Zucker is said to have personally asked her to appear regularly on "Today." Now she works almost daily during the morning show's 9 a.m. hour.

"She has all the makings of a morning-show standout," a TV-industry insider told Kaplan. "She's smart, engaging, authoritative, a mother — and the audience easily identifies with her. But she's no Katie Couric — yet."

Natalie Morales who the Post described as "a savvy, smooth news presenter" joined MSNBC in 2002. She has appeared frequently on "Today" during the show's first two hours, sometimes subbing for Couric, who is said to be among Morales' biggest boosters.

When Couric's stint at Today ends, there are a pair of comers waiting in the wings.

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