Yeah, I'll pass on Dr. Oz as well. I wouldn't be doing myself any favors wasting time watching a show with him hosting when there are hundreds (of thousands) of things to do in life during that period.
As mentioned, several of the people hosting are just doing it as guests. No way several of them are legitimate candidates. That was one reason why I originally wasn't livid about Dr. Oz. I guess he's "done well" over the years, but the fact is that no one's forcing me to watch the show when he's on. Same with everybody else, but definitely Dr. Oz. It is helpful that they warn us about who's coming up.
I never considered Mike Richards as being the one to make the calls on who would guest host. I'm willing to bet that he didn't even ask to guest host himself, but he has some experience, and possibly enough.
I agree they're not going to get the "perfect" person for the role. Ken Jennings would be the "definitive" choice, but not the perfect choice. I'd love to see LeVar Burton as well, but even he wouldn't be the perfect hire. I don't know if he passed on the chance, especially if he wasn't looked at as a valuable replacement.
The news background is pretty important. Especially if you combine that with someone that's been a part of news and entertainment or news and sports. James Brown would actually be a nice choice. Wouldn't bet on it, but at the end of the day, there were better options than Dr. Oz regardless of whether Dr. Oz had zero chance at succeeding Alex Trebek