Although Phil Simms didn’t engage in the same media tour as Greg Olsen, he certainly felt the sting of being replaced—especially by one of the most renowned quarterbacks of the next generation. There are clear parallels between Simms being set aside for Tony Romo and Olsen now making way for Tom Brady at Fox. That’s a perspective left to the audience; Simms himself won’t draw the comparisons. However, as the now-former NFL on CBS studio analyst, he empathizes with Olsen’s situation.
Olsen isn’t rooting for Brady to fail—there’s no personal animus toward the seven-time Super Bowl champion who recently called Super Bowl LIX for Fox. After two years of holding Brady’s spot, Olsen has revisited a wound that never fully healed. He wants to call top games, which he realizes isn’t feasible at Fox anymore. Once regarded as the network’s premier analyst, he now feels sidelined, prompting him to express his frustrations to Fox Sports executives.
While Simms, who has called eight Super Bowls, isn’t pursuing high-profile assignments like Olsen, he did mention to Awful Announcing’s Brandon Contes that he would accept an offer for the seventh game of a seven-game slate purely for the enjoyment of it. “I would use it more as an avenue now than I did when I was doing it,” Simms stated, adding that he would likely have a broader scope and might express his opinions more freely now.
Simms did go off on a slight tangent before returning to discuss Olsen. “Good for him; I don’t blame him at all,” Simms commented. “I’m on his side. Would I have done that? I’d never have the courage to do that… I think he’s putting it out there that he wants to be the No. 1 somewhere. The challenge is that there aren’t many of those positions available, and those who hold them often want to keep them indefinitely.”
Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. For more content, subscribe to AA’s YouTube page.
