TVSquad

For once the info coming from CBS News is not about whether Katie Couric's job is in jeopardy. Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer has decided not to retire after all; he's staying with CBS News indefinitely.

The veteran newsman, who'll be 72 this year, had announced his retirement. He was going to leave the Black Rock as of the January presidential inauguration. Now he's decided to postpone the rocking chair. According to TV Week, the network didn't have to twist his arm; the deal was easily and simply done. All Schieffer had to do was get his wife Pat's approval and he was able to tell CBS News and Sports President Sean McManus asked him not to step down as planned with the inauguration of a new president that he would remain.

Pat and Bob's travel plans, therefore, will be down the road. Schieffer has been a valuable asset for CBS News, his home base for 40 years. He anchored the CBS Evening News in between the Dan Rather and Katie Couric regimes, and earned high marks from critics. His ratings were also better than Katie's are right now.

With that in mind, the industry has buzzed with the thought that Schieffer could be called upon to fill in again if Couric is let go and a new anchor is not yet determined. Like a great middle reliever in baseball, Schieffer could be a stop-gap solution. However, Schieffer isn't thinking that way. "This deal has nothing to do with anything except Face the Nation."