Sports media was buzzing this week with the news that former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is not only retiring from the NFL, but also embarking on a career in broadcasting at CBS Sports.
However, one person who wasn’t forewarned about the move was the man whose job Romo is set to take over.
Analyst Phil Simms’ son said that he was the one who told his father that Romo had been hired to replace him in CBS’s No. 1 NFL analyst seat alongside Jim Nantz.
“I had to tell my dad first, before CBS or anybody, because I found out from an NFL insider,” Chris Simms said on Bleacher Report’s Simms & Lefkoe Podcast.
“I forwarded the text message that I was sent and it basically said, ‘Hey, listen, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Romo’s being offered your dad’s job on CBS, that sucks, I’m sorry.’ And my dad was in Barbados, and I had to forward the text message to him to let him know.”
However, according to a CBS Sports spokeswoman, “Both Phil and his agent knew in advance of the announcement and CBS had been in regular communication with his agent prior to that.”
Simms Jr. continued to say: “I think if there’s anything he’s probably a little disappointed [about] … I don’t think he feels like they talked to him right away [or] at least warned him to let him know that this was happening.
“That’s just not what you do to a good, hard-working employee that’s been for 20 years been kind of the face of your football station. I think from that it probably does hurt,” Chris, who was a QB for the Buccaneers, Broncos and Giants before joining Fox Sports, said.
Two-time Super Bowl champion Phil Simms still has two years left on his contract with CBS, as well as a role with Showtime’s “Inside the NFL.”
His son was quick to stress that the former New York Giants QB hadn’t personally vented about his demotion.
“He’s not complaining, though. He’ll figure out what he’s going to do,” Chris said. “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.”