Phil Simms has received plenty of sympathy this week, but many are wondering whether CBS has shown him the respect he deserves.
Tony Romo’s arrival as the lead analyst on CBS’ NFL broadcasts caught Simms off guard, his son Chris claimed Thursday on his Bleacher Report podcast, according to The Washington Post’s Matt Bonesteel. Romo’s arrival demotes Phil Simms on CBS’ pecking order, and Chris Simms isn’t happy about the way the network handled the situation.
“He’s good,” Chris Simms said. “If there’s anything he is a little disappointed is that they didn’t talk to him right away and warned him this was happening. That’s not what you do for a good, hard-working employee who’s been with you 20 years and the face of your football station. From that, it probably does hurt.
“I don’t know if my dad would be happy with me saying this: You can’t sit there as a normal person out there and look at this and say they handled it like professionals. (The possibility) has been out there for two weeks.”
Phil Simms is vacationing in Barbados and hasn’t commented on CBS’ Romo decision.
Chris Simms insists he informed his father CBS had hired Romo on Tuesday.
But CBS disputes the younger Simms’ claim.
“Both Phil and his agent (Steve Rosner) knew in advance of the announcement and CBS had been in regular communication with his agent prior to that,” a CBS spokeswoman told The New York Post.
Phil Simms’ contract with CBS expires in two years. He might accept the demotion and continue in his current job, find a new role with CBS or leave the network for another. Chris Simms said his father’s future is undetermined, but one certainty is that he won’t jump at the chance to broadcast Thursday night games.
“He’s not complaining, though,” Chris Simms said of his father. “He’ll figure out what he’s going to do. Over the last few years, he’s gotten into the conversation a lot of ‘I just want to enjoy my job’ and I think the Thursday, Sunday game-calling did wear him out. Nobody wants to do double duty.”
Thumbnail photo via Matthew Emmons/USA TODAY Sports Images
