CBS News is reportedly moving quickly to replace ousted “60 Minutes” executive producer Jeff Fager, who was fired earlier this month. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Bill Owens and Susan Zirinsky are among the top candidates for the job.

Owens, Fager’s longtime second-in-command, was named to manage the “60 Minutes” team on an interim basis immediately after news broke Sept. 12 of Fager’s ouster. Zirinsky is the senior executive producer of “48 Hours” and CBS News’ breaking news specials.

“Casting for a new executive producer of ’60 Minutes’ as staffers are gearing up for the show’s 51st season premiere on Sept. 30 would be hard enough,” THR notes. “But doing so after Fager was fired — amid ongoing investigations and after multiple reports characterized the culture at ’60 Minutes’ as sexist — has made the undertaking all the more difficult.”

Leading the search is Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews, executive VP at CBS News and President David Rhodes’ No. 2.

“Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that she has been ensconced in an office next to the ’60 Minutes’ screening room, where she has been holding closed-door meetings with 60 staffers,” THR reports, adding: “Owens has strong support at the show, and several staffers who have met with Ciprian-Matthews have lobbied for him.”

We encourage readers to click on the link above to THR to read the full report.