Phil Simms - Life Off The Field

Life Off The Field

Simms and his wife Diana live in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. They have three children: Chris, Deirdre and Matthew (former freshman QB at Louisville, and later Tennessee). Simms is fond of New Jersey, remarking in 1987; "I wasn't overjoyed about coming to New York. When I thought of New York I thought of New York City. But out here, it's just like anywhere else."

On September 4, 1995, Simms' jersey was retired in a halftime ceremony of a game versus the Dallas Cowboys. During an emotional speech, Simms stated that he wanted to don his jersey one final time, and throw "one more pass" to teammate Lawrence Taylor. Simms later commented, "ll of a sudden it kind of hit me, I've put Lawrence in a really tough spot; national TV, he's got dress shoes and a sports jacket on, and he's had a few beers and he's going to run down the field and I'm going to throw him a pass." Simms then motioned for Taylor to run a longer pattern, and after 30–40 yards, threw him the pass. Taylor later stated that the situation made him more nervous than any play of his career, "I'm saying to myself (as the pass is being thrown), 'If I drop this pass, I got to run my black ass all the way to Upper Saddle River because there ain't no way I'm going to be able to stay in that stadium'." Taylor caught the pass however, and the capacity crowd in attendance cheered in approval. Since he has been retired for more than five years, Simms is eligible for selection into the Pro Football Hall of Fame; he has yet to be inducted, however.

After his retirement as a player in 1994, Simms first joined ESPN then went on to join NBC's lead broadcast crew, teaming with Dick Enberg and Paul Maguire on that network's coverage of Super Bowl XXX and Super Bowl XXXII. Simms also announced Weightlifting at the 1996 Summer Olympics and served as a sideline reporter on the NBA on NBC for NBC Sports. In 1998, he moved to CBS with the AFC package, teaming first with Greg Gumbel (through the end of the 2003 season) and currently with Jim Nantz on the CBS's lead broadcast team. He also worked with Armen Keteyian, Bonnie Bernstein and Lesley Visser. He hosts Inside the NFL on Showtime (another CBS holding) with Warren Sapp and Cris Collinsworth. He has appeared on CBS Daytime since joining CBS, with a 2007 appearance as himself on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns, and in February 2010 an appearance on The Price Is Right (with Nantz) to present a Super Bowl XLIV Showcase, including saying the show's signature A New Car. Simms is part of the new commentary team, along with his broadcast partner Jim Nantz, in the Madden NFL 13 video game.