The character’s controversial past was probably one of the reasons.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ story may be getting a big update soon as NCIS keeps expanding its universe with yet another spinoff, but the character has been out of the original show for quite some time already.
Gibbs said a definite goodbye to his team back in season 19 when he decided it was time for a long-awaited retirement in Alaska while his position was eventually taken over by former FBI agent Alden Parker.
Though the latter has been there for several seasons in a row with no real criticism from the show’s lovers, some fans still seem to question Gibbs’ decision to pass on his torch to Parker while there was another excellent candidate for such a role.
A Reddit thread from a couple of months ago takes a look at a perspective that not many people have been discussing for now. One user posted a comment suggesting that NCIS’ vet Tobias Fornell was a much better fit for Gibbs’ position than Alden Parker.
Apart from the fact that Fornell is Gibbs’ good friend (though nepotism would surely be criticized in this case), the character has in fact always been there ever since season 1, even if he didn’t show up that frequently throughout the show’s long run.
The Reddit user claimed that Fornell has lots of advantages like fan love, his experience as a federal agent, his ability to “handle politicians,” his emotional stability, and even the fact that he’s an original character, unlike newcomer Alden Parker.
However good it may sound, such a thought met a lot of retorts in the comment section. Many pointed out to Fornell’s troubled past as an FBI agent that was fired for lying and after that “no government agency would hire him”.
Apart from that, some fans surmised that Fornell’s actor, Joe Spano, is somewhat older than his character, so the chances are he would just refuse to have a bigger role that would require his presence in almost every single episode.
Some other users took a different position saying that Gary Cole’s Alden Parker is indeed a much better fit and for now there’s no chance for anyone else to replace him anyway. Well, it does seem like Parker has a long way to go in NCIS, despite his recent injury in season 21.