There’s really only one character who should be promoted to the Director of NCIS. It’s all about McGee.
However, there are steps McGee will need to take, which would mean seeing a little less of him as NCIS continues, and we’re not at all happy about that.
That being said, the team needs the right director, and there are some great alternatives from across the NCIS universe.
Before we begin, you need to know that I did originally have Sam Hanna on my list, for those who are about to shout at me for not including him.
I took him off, thanks to NCIS: New York, which has just been added to the fall schedule, since Sam can’t exactly be in two places at once.
Yet he could make a good director now that he has experience with the more political side of things, following the NCIS: Elite mission.
So if New York doesn’t take off for whatever reason, he can be added in later.
Hetty Lange from NCIS: Los Angeles
Let’s start with the obvious: Hetty Lange from NCIS: Los Angeles.
She may be small, but she is mighty, and nobody dares to cross her.
Throughout her time on NCIS: Los Angeles, Hetty proved she has what it takes to lead, whether it’s knowing when and when not to follow orders or ensuring her agents know how to listen between the lines.
Understandably (though disappointingly), Linda Hunt had to step back from filming when production restarted after the pandemic, and then schedules didn’t align, so we didn’t get much of Hetty in the final seasons of NCIS: LA.
That doesn’t mean Hetty was forgotten; we all remember the uproar over leaving her behind in Syria and not giving us a chance to see the team save her.
Fortunately, we all got the update we needed, which allows her to take over as Director.
Yes, she has her secret mission, and no, she may not be interested in it, but she would be a lot of fun behind that chair, working with the likes of Parker and Torres to keep them in line.
Also, Hetty’s secrets would bring up some rather interesting storylines for the whole of MTAC. It’s time to delve into them just a little bit more.
Hannah Khoury from NCIS: New Orleans
Now, I know that Necar Zadegan is currently on the CIA, but that doesn’t mean we can’t dream. Plus, we have no idea whether Zadegan’s character on that series is the mole.
There is an open door for her to return to the NCIS franchise instead, perhaps as the Director at HQ.
During the final season of NCIS: New Orleans, she made it clear that she was interested in moving up the ranks.
While she did end up turning down the opportunity to move up the career ladder, there was always the hint that it just wasn’t the right time.
How about moving all the way to the top of the totem pole?
We never really got to see her interact with anyone outside her own team, but Hannah was always good at being diplomatic when she needed to be.
She was also great at working with newer people. Just look at the way she and Quentin Charles got along when he turned up during NCIS: New Orleans Season 7.
I could see her working extremely well with an agent like Parker, who would likely remind her a little of Dwayne Pride, and she’d be excellent at showing interest in Kasie’s findings.
Like Hetty, Hannah can play the system when she needs to, and we’d likely see her backing up her team whenever they need it as they skirt the line between right and not-quite-right.
G. Callen from NCIS: Los Angeles
Another good NCIS: LA option would be G. Callen. He is now married and likely wants to settle down a little more.
In fact, NCIS: Los Angeles helped establish the idea of him taking over Hetty’s role one day, and he has always shown his ability to lead.
One of the benefits is that he wasn’t always the great team leader that he grew into. He was a lone wolf for the longest time, and that’s something he’d likely see in Nick Torres.
While Torres has calmed down a lot and learned to work as a team over the last few years, there are still things for him to figure out.
Callen would be a great listening ear and guide in a way that no other leader has helped him, similar to the way he helped Deeks over the years.
On top of that, he respects the jobs everyone can do and knows how to play to everyone’s strengths.
Whether it was being amazed at Nell’s tech skills or learning how to trust Deeks’s crazy schemes, Callen would pay attention with the respect it always deserved.
So, why not take over as the Director of NCIS? Sure, he may not initially want to move to the other side of the country, but it would be a career opportunity he probably couldn’t miss.
Kensi Blye from NCIS: Los Angeles
Sticking with the first of all NCIS spinoffs, we need to mention Kensi Blye.
Out of all the characters on NCIS: LA, she grew tremendously, making it clear that one day she would become a leader.
Kensi wasn’t afraid to go undercover, and she also wasn’t afraid to be in the line of fire. At the same time, she was pragmatic in every action that she took.
And while she did love the field, that doesn’t mean she always would. Priorities shift as family life grows, and that’s sure to be the case for her.
By the end of NCIS: LA Season 14, Kensi and Deeks had started their family, and they clearly intended to grow it.
Wouldn’t she want a slightly safer job? Now, the idea of the Director of NCIS being a safer job is debatable, considering the last two were killed, but it’s meant to be safer than being in the field.
The question would be whether the whole family would want to move across the country. It’s not just Kensi, but Deeks and the whole family.
We’d also likely need to see a shift at NCIS, as Deeks would surely need a job there.
It does make this promotion a little less likely, but it’s fun to imagine Kensi climbing the career ladder in the way she deserves.
Jane Tennant from NCIS: Hawai’i
I’m still salty that NCIS: Hawai’i was canceled, and I’m not done hoping that one or more of the characters could show up in the universe.
Jane Tennant is the most likely among the team to move up the ranks to become Director.
She shows how to lead, without being overly bossy or strict, in the way that so many women in power have been portrayed in the past.
Jane treats her team like family and trusts them to make good choices and decisions.
Do they always do that? Not at all, but Jane has experience working with a wide range of personalities and backgrounds.
She’s handled someone like Torres through Kai’s introduction on the series, and she knows how to handle genius men thanks to Ernie’s fascination with the details.
There isn’t a person at HQ she couldn’t get along with, and if she couldn’t, she knows how to be professional and civil.
There are questions about her daughter, with whom she still shares custody at home in Hawai’i. However, I do think a storyline could be easily created to make it plausible.
We’ve seen that Jane can get along with other members of the team, and it would be a lot of fun to see her and Torres’ interactions when she is much higher up the career chain.
Tony DiNozzo from NCIS
Does anyone else hate that NCIS: Tony & Ziva was just canceled? Does anyone else hate that it was on Paramount+ instead of CBS?
Tony was the heart of NCIS when it first started, while Gibbs was the soul.
He brought humor and light-heartedness to some of the tougher storylines that the team had to face. We even got to see how he dealt with the death of his best friend, Kate.
Over the years, he grew into a loyal friend and a good leader. We got the chance to see that now and then, when the team was separated and given other tasks.
Now it’s time for him to come back into the fold.
Okay, he probably doesn’t want to, and he has a life with Ziva and Tali, but the team needs him.
If it can’t be McGee, then Tony is the one who can help pull everyone together. He was there for Palmer when it came to Ducky’s death, and he can be there for others who don’t even know him — but will have heard plenty of stories.
It would also be a lot of fun to see Tony and Torres interact, given that they have very similar personalities. There would be a lot of mind-clashing.
I admit, though, that this would mostly be for fan service. My heart will still turn to McGee to take over from Vance if it is someone from the flagship NCISverse show.
Kate Whistler from NCIS: Hawai’i
I know what you’re going to say: Kate Whistler is FBI.
Well, guess what, so was Alden Parker!
Parker managed to make the jump during NCIS Season 19, so why can’t Kate?
Whether she would want to or not is debatable. She would have also needed to make the shift to NCIS before even being considered for the position.
At the same time, Kate is on the younger side, and it would rule her out.
That being said, Kate is a quick learner, and she certainly managed the intricacies of inter-federal agency relations.
As an FBI agent, she was expected to follow her boss’s rules and put her own agency first, but she couldn’t sideline a team she knew was capable of the job.
This could become a useful tool as the NCIS Director. Vance had to work with other agencies all the time, and that’s not just going to stop.
Oh, and we’d get an update on Lucy. I could imagine them making long-distance work until there is space for Lucy to join MTAC. After all, they did long-distance when Lucy was on the boat!
This is where we want to hear your theories — no matter how wild they are!
Who would you love to see from the NCISverse step into the role of director? Which character could you see sitting in that chair comfortably? Sound off in the comments below!
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