Is Simon Leaving "Idol" After All?

The rumors of Simon Cowell leaving “Idol” after this season are getting louder as we head into what could be the wildest season of “Idol” yet…

It all started with a story in a London newspaper last week that Simon was meeting with FOX officials to talk about bringing “The X Factor,” his successful British show, to the US. Now Simon’s own brother is joining the fray with a report on his podcast that Simon will in fact leave “Idol” after this season to work on “Factor” (You can read about that here.).

You will recall that earlier this year, all signs pointed at Simon signing a huge new contract to return to the show…

Last week the “New York Post” declared this season to be the show’s last since it could not possibly carry on without Simon. And it even went so far as to say that Ryan Seacrest would probably consider moving to “Factor” with Simon.

If these reports are true after Simon’s new contract seemed like a done deal, I have to believe there’s a Paula factor here. Maybe Simon decided he couldn’t do three more years of the show without her…

Or maybe it’s her replacements he can’t do the show with…

What do you guys think? Do you think it’s a risk for Simon to leave a hit to do a new show? And could “Idol” live on without him?