Phil Sims felt his time at CBS was coming to an end soon.
“It wasn’t that surprising.” Sims said on the “Front Office Sports Today” podcast. Regarding his recent firing from the network. “I knew that maybe some change was going to happen, or I thought it was going to happen. So I think it makes it a little bit easier.
“Would I have kept working? Of course. I mean, damn it. I didn’t like it, but I loved it. We talked about football, we hung out together, we probably worked together when we went to commercials. I can really say what I want to people, but it’s all in the meetings. But it was fun and it was a great job, so now I’m just going to do something else.”
CBS recently made major changes to its “NFL Today” show, dropping Sims and Boomer Esiason and replacing them with JJ Watt and Matt Ryan.
Sims, 68, had been with the network for 26 years.
He said he intended to no longer be part of CBS’ plans, but CBS didn’t keep him in the loop before dropping the axe.
Sims’ contract had expired, so the network chose not to renew it rather than fire him.
“No one asked me or spoke to me,” Sims said. “I think I probably waited a couple of months or more to see what CBS was going to do. I think the longer I waited, the more I realized it wasn’t going to work in my favor.”
Sims, a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Giants, previously told Front Office Sports that he would be “happy” to stay on TV, but wasn’t sure if that was a realistic path.
In this recent interview, Sims acknowledged how television tends to focus on young talent.
For now, his focus is on Podcast “The Sims Complete” along with his son Matt, a former Jets quarterback.
“Like I said, I kind of expected it. I’ll handle it. Hey, I get to spend more quality time with my son now. Here we go. Beyond that. You can not.”
“Our family as a whole is hurt by that, because of course we know how much he loves this game and how much time and effort he puts into it,” Matt said. spoke about CBS leaving his father. “He really does his homework every week. It’s selfish, but I’m excited to now share all of his wisdom, guidance, and experience from his years of media work, covering football, and playing football. And we’re selfishly excited to bring it to The Sims Complete and share it with the world.”
Phil said he is enjoying his foray into podcasting.
“There’s more freedom,” Phil said. “We can’t say anything of value about NFL football or sports by kibitzing for five minutes straight. …Freedom is uplifting and makes you feel great, and it’s something you can never do on TV.” I can really explain things in detail, unless you’re working on TNT for 30 minutes free and commercial-free. …Do you think Boomer Esiason will lose his thorns?”
