Phil Simms lands on CBS' 'NFL Today' after being replaced by Tony Romo
Phil Simms was added to CBS' NFL Today cast on Wednesday, two weeks after the former New York Giants quarterback was replaced by Tony Romo on the network’s top broadcast team.
Simms fills the hole left vacant by Tony Gonzalez, who announced his departure last month. Simms spent the last 19 seasons at CBS as the network’s top analyst, the past 13 alongside Jim Nantz.
“I’m excited to be in the studio,” Simms told Paste BN Sports. “I’ve said for a quite a few years it’d be fun to cover the whole league and watch how all the players and coaches manage the game. I already know J.B. (James Brown) and Boomer (Esiason) from doing Inside the NFL. I am looking forward to the next phase of my broadcast career.”
Romo was announced as Nantz’s new partner that came in conjunction with his release from the Dallas Cowboys on April 4. There was no immediate word on what role Simms, who was still under contract for multiple years, would have, but CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus said at the time the two sides would work toward a resolution.
“I haven’t talked to Romo yet,” Simms said. “We will in the future. There’s so much going on. I’m sure either I’ll reach out to him or he will reach out to me. I’ll be happy to offer some advice and he’s free to take it, but it’s like in football. You can tell the rookie guys all you want, but they have to go out and experience it themselves. Nothing is easy.”
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Simms was often the source of harsh criticism on social media. McManus told Paste BN Sports that those critiques played no role on Romo supplanting Simms in the booth.
“I take it with a grain of salt,” McManus said. “It’s not uncommon for an analyst of NFL games to be criticized because fan passion is so great. I am not going to make decisions based on what a couple thousand people say on Twitter. We made the decision to make the best broadcast team going forward.”
Simms said he doesn’t read his reviews, although he can’t avoid critiques altogether.
“I make very bold statements,” Simms said. “When you’re critical, you can anger a fan base. I think I’ve called 80 New England games and the Patriots are probably 75-5 in those. I had somebody come up to me in New England before a game and ask, ‘Are you going to say something nice about me team?’ Who says more good things about the Patriots than me?”
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