- According to Cowell, his friend Randy Jackson will return to "Idol"
- There has been speculation that Jackson will leave as a judge
- An official announcement on the judges' panel may come later this week
(EW.com) -- Simon Cowell has good news for "American Idol" fans who don't want to see the big dawg hit the road. Cowell tweeted that Randy Jackson will stick around the Fox talent show for another season.
"Just heard Randy is back on Idol," Cowell tweeted to his 3.6 million followers. "Right decision."
Late last month, news broke that Jackson was expected to leave the judges' panel and move into a mentor-like role but now it appears he'll stay put in his chair. Deadline says that Fox went ahead and exercised the option it already had on Jackson, who has been on "Idol" since it debuted in 2002.
Fox, for now, is staying mum though it may make an official announcement about the panel later this week. Only Mariah Carey has been announced as a new judge, replacing one of the vacancies left by Jennifer Lopez and Steve Tyler. The other rumored candidates for the high-profile gigs are Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban.
Cowell's "The X Factor," meanwhile, returns to the network on Wednesday.
