Had two of NBC's three other games not been jettisoned within a month of P+'s departure (only WoF survived), there might be some merit to that. NBC was sagging in all dayparts and they seemed to be desperate to find some formula that worked (like turning to a mostly soap lineup at the expense of their game shows). And it's not like Kennedy came aboard and the show was cancelled on the spot--it ran another year and change with Kennedy at the helm.
By the time of SP's debut, NBC's fortunes were turning around in prime time, so executives became a lot more patient and willing to stay the course in daytime as well (which didn't mean there wouldn't be short-lived shows--but you had lynchpins that would enjoy pretty healthy runs [$otC and SCRABBLE ran about six years, SP 4 1/2, CLCN four years first-run, then two years of reruns, and of course, WoF]).