Leslie Moonves of CBS has denied that they actually offered either late slot to Neil Patrick Harris. The way he tells it, it's kinda like I said: A general discussion in which they dangled the possibility as a way of letting Harris know they want to keep him in the "CBS family."
In the interview, Moonves knocks down the rumor that they're talking to Joel McHale about the 12:30 slot and also denies that Chelsea Handler is out of the running. Frankly, I don't see them offering the show to either one but I've been surprised before.
I wonder if they've considered not naming an immediate replacement for Craig Ferguson but doing what I believe they did when Craig Kilborn left: Trying out different hosts over a period of time. Ferguson did not take over right after Kilborn's departure. Instead, they tried out a bevy of guest hosts for a few nights here and a few nights there. Then they gave one whole week to each of four "finalists" — Ferguson, D.L. Hughley, Damien Fahey, and Michael Ian Black — before picking the Scotsman.
That obviously has some benefit in terms of picking the best host. Doing it now, if they brought in a lot of women and non-white folks to try out, would eliminate some of the sense that they'd only consider a white male. The downside would be that they probably want to have their 12:30 person in place and established for a month or two before they shake up their other late night slot with the new guy. And I don't think they want to yank Ferguson off before he finishes out his announced term.
We shall see, we shall see…