Curry on the way out of 'Today'?

NBC News is trying to force out Ann Curry as co-anchor of the "Today" show, a year after she replaced Meredith Vieira, The New York Times reported Wednesday night.

Citing unnamed executives, the paper says a foreign reporting role has been offered to Curry, who has so far been reluctant to accept the exit offer. In addition, she has hired well-known Washington, D.C., lawyer and power broker Robert Barnett to handle her negotiations. (Barnett handled Bill Clinton's literary negotiations and has represented many high-powered on-air network anchors and reporters over the years.)

NBC declined to comment on the Times story, and Barnett's office did not return a call.

The timing of the Times piece may be relevant: NBC may have in place a window -- not uncommon -- in Curry's contract allowing it to renegotiate her contract. Those are often predicated on ratings; if ratings are bad, and Curry's "Today" did fall behind "Good Morning America" for the first time in 16 years, then that might trigger a clause that could impact salary or tenure. This window, assuming it exists, may have opened a year after her June 9, 2011, start, when she replaced Vieira.

It has been an open industry secret for months that Curry's tenure has been less-than-stellar. Earlier this month, she was replaced by Vieira during "Today's" coverage of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, one of the most prestigious events of the broadcast year.

An unexpected sub like that -- NBC said Curry had "time off" -- is almost always indicative of behind-the-scenes turmoil. Although in that instance "Today" executives may have made the simple calculus that Vieira would be a better fit with Matt Lauer.

But keeping Curry off the Queen's coverage was a sharp blow to her, as well as a message that read: We can and will replace you when we have a mind to.

But replacing Curry may not be so easy. There is no immediately obvious in-house replacement, even though Savannah Guthrie, co-host of "Today's" third hour, is believed to be the logical successor. Plus, a precipitous change could trigger audience backlash, not unlike when Jane Pauley was dumped for Deborah Norville in 1990. However, the Times' piece, citing a source, noted that executives were feeling "real pressure" to complete a transition by July 27, when the summer Olympics begin.