For those of us who fell in love with pro football in the 1970s, The NFL Today on CBS was appointment viewing. And for good reason. Beyond the articles that made their way to the local newspaper (typically, about the local team), there wasn’t much information or discussion about the games to be played on every given Sunday.
Nowadays, the Sunday morning/afternoon pregame shows are more prevalent — and frankly far less relevant — than they were in the ‘70s. In an effort to stand out among a crowded landscape of content, The NFL Today could be looking at a new tomorrow.
As explained by Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, a shakeup could be coming. The contracts of host James Brown and analysts Boomer Esiason, Bill Cowher, and Phil Simms are expiring. Only Nate Burleson (who as Marchand notes could become the new host of the show) is under contract to return, along with part-timer J.J. Watt.
Simms tells Marchand that, whatever happens, he won’t be calling it quits.
“I’m never going to get out of it,” Simms told Marchand. “I don’t know what I’ll do if I don’t go back to CBS. But I’m definitely going to continue to work with or in the NFL — somewhere, somehow, whatever it is. I’m just not going to go, ‘OK, I’m done. I’m retired.’”
Whether he’s done during the 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET window on CBS remains to be seen. At 68, Simms has plenty of years left to contribute knowledge and insight regarding the game at which he excelled.
