At the end of Chicago Fire Season 12, Wallace Boden (Eamonn Walker)

became Deputy Commissioner, but he knew that in leaving, he needed to

have someone replace him. And as it’s become clear over the years, but especially

in the finale, the person for that position is Herrmann (David Eigenberg). After all, in the finale, it was Herrmann who stepped up to remind the others of the lives they did manage to save on a tough call. Herrmann wasn’t sure, but Boden told him he just needed to be himself, the person “who looks out for people, who listens, who always leads with his heart.” But then less than a month after the finale aired, it was reported that a new character will be coming in as chief in a series regular role.

This new battalion chief, potentially named Dom Pascal, “began his career with the CFD but spent the last decade as a chief in Sunny Miami,” according to Deadline. He’s “a cheerful person who works well under pressure, and whose leadership style differs from Boden’s.” There’s also potential for personal drama; he’s estranged from his wife.

But fans probably shouldn’t have been surprised when it was reported that Herrmann won’t be taking over for Boden, as David Eigenberg told TV Insider at the Television Critics’ Association Summer Press Tour. After all, it’s not like Herrmann could have just become battalion chief; he’s currently only a lieutenant.

“The character can’t make a shift to a chief unless we were deep into TV falsehoods,” Eigenberg pointed out. “I’m not going to let him do that. He has to become a captain, and then you got to go through a whole thing. I think that the character might be able to make the transition. I don’t know. Who knows? They may put me in chief and then fire me as a chief. We’ll see.”

As for how Herrmann’s going to feel about this new character coming in, considering what Boden told him he wanted, Eigenberg’s not sure yet. “I know Herrmann is always floating around. His brain is always kind of a little bit whacked out about everything, so we’re just going to see what happens,” he said.

Still, we do expect to see Herrmann stepping up into a leadership role around 51, even if it’s not with an official promotion.