Phil Simms is staying with CBS in a new role.
The network announced Wednesday that Simms will join the network’s “The NFL Today” studio show, a role that, according to Simms himself, he has discussed with CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus in the past.
“Listen, I didn’t make any comments for a lot of reasons and you want to sit there and think about it,” Simms told SI’s Richard Deitsch on Wednesday. “Initially was my pride hurt? Absolutely. Of course it was…So it took a little bit. Not long. I started thinking about it in a positive way and then I became excited about it. [CBS Sports Chairman] Sean [McManus] had talked to me over the years about maybe going into the studio. I now get to follow the league like I want to. That was probably the most frustrating thing about my job. You do one or two games a week, you can’t really pay attention to the other teams like I wanted to do. When you do games, you are all-in on those games. On Inside The NFL, I get to say things about stuff that I never get to say in a broadcast.
“Look, I know the business. I love doing football. I understand the expectations for what you have to accomplish in the studio. I am definitely not short-sighted but I plan on doing it for a long time.”
Simms also downplayed his son Chris’s assertion that Jim Nantz had a role pushing him out of the booth.
“I wanted to wait for things to settle down before we had a chance to talk,” Simms said. “Decisions are made. My relationship with Jim is good. I did not keep Christopher in the loop. That is the truth. I didn’t really tell him, so he was out there being a son. He was emotional, and to say he is opinionated is an underrated statement. I’m sure, just like me, it hurts your pride and your family’s pride for a bit…I feel kind of bad I did not keep him in the loop but I think he understands more now and has a different opinion of how it all went down.”
Simms was replaced by Tony Romo on CBS’s No. 1 broadcast team, and he made clear he wasn’t finished in the business. He was true to his word.
