Phil Simms
Photo Credit: Mary Kouw/CBS
Birthdate: November 3, 1955
NJ Town Affiliation: Franklin Lakes
The Kentucky-native Phil Simms was the New York Giants first selection in the 1979 NFL Draft out of Morehead State University. Simms spent 15 years as a quarterback for the New York Giants, winning two Super Bowl titles (1987, 1991). Simms was named Super Bowl MVP in Super Bowl XXI (1987) when he completed 22 of 25 passes in defeating the Denver Broncos for Big Blue’s first Super Bowl win. Upon retirement, Simms established team marks for most passes completed and attempted for one game (40 completed, 62 attempted), season (286, 533) and career (2,576, 4,647), most career touchdown passes (199) and most 300-yard games in a career (21). Simms was selected for the 1985 and 1993 Pro Bowls and was the 1985 Pro Bowl MVP. He was named All-Pro in 1986.
Following an All-Pro quarterback career, Simms became a mainstay in the broadcast booth as lead NFL game analyst for NBC (1995-1998) and then CBS (1998-2016) before transitioning to studio analyst for CBS’s The NFL Today (2016-2024). In total, Simms has served as lead game analyst for eight (8) Super Bowls. Simms has served as a studio analyst on Inside The NFL, contributor to the weekly show NFL MONDAY QB on CBS Sports Network as well as co-host of SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Radio program Simms and the Mad Dog. Away from the gridiron, Simms has also announced weightlifting events for NBC Sports coverage of the 1996 Olympic Summer Games and served as sideline reporter on “The NBA on NBC”. In addition to his work in the broadcast booth, the Franklin Lakes, NJ resident authored the New York Times bestselling “Sunday Morning Quarterback: Going Deep on the Strategies, Myths and Mayhem of Football”. and co-hosted the Miss Universe Pageant (2002) on CBS, becoming the first athlete ever to do so.
Simms earned his degree from Morehead State University in Morehead, Ky. He and his wife, Diana, live in Franklin Lakes, N.J. They have three children, Christopher, Matthew and Deirdre. Simms also has seven grandchildren.