Background and career
Phillip Martin Simms (born November 3, 1955) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the New York Giants. After playing college football for the Morehead State Eagles, Simms was selected in the first round by the Giants as the seventh overall pick in the 1979 NFL draft. Simms was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of Super Bowl XXI, after he led the Giants to a 39–20 win over the Denver Broncos and set the record for highest completion percentage in a Super Bowl, completing 22 of 25 passes (88%), as well as the highest passer rating in a Super Bowl at 150.9; both of these records still stand. He was also named to the Pro Bowl for his performances in the 1985 and 1993 seasons. He finished his career with 33,462 passing yards and would go on to be a career broadcaster of NFL games—first as an analyst for ESPN, then as an in-game color commentator with NBC and CBS. He left CBS in 2024. He is the father of former NFL quarterback, assistant coach, and current NFL football analyst Chris Simms and former quarterback Matt Simms.
Simms was born in Springfield, Kentucky, on his grandfather's farm, a place now called Maple Hill Manor in Washington County, where he attended St. Dominic's Elementary. While in elementary school, his family moved to Louisville and he went to St. Rita Catholic grade school. Simms was the quarterback of the Trojans of Southern High School in Louisville and graduated in 1974. Simms is a descendent of millionaire Frank Wall, and a relative of two older college football players Doc Kuhn, who played for Vanderbilt, and Shipwreck Kelly, who played for Kentucky.
Simms chose to attend NCAA Division I FCS (formerly Division 1 AA) Morehead State of the Ohio Valley Conference in nearby Morehead. The Morehead State Eagles ran a ball-control offense, and Simms' numbers were unspectacular—in his senior season he completed 92 of 173 passes for a 53.2% completion percentage and had six touchdown passes, 11 interceptions, and 1,229 yards. The Ohio Valley moved up to the new Division I-AA in 1978, but the Eagles went 2–6–1; they failed to make the postseason during his college career. Simms finished with 409 completions in 835 attempts for a 48.9% completion percentage. He also totaled 32 touchdowns, 45 interceptions, and a school-record 5,545 yards. Morehead State renamed its football venue of Jayne Stadium to Phil Simms Stadium prior to the Eagles' 2025 homecoming game on October 18.
Before the 1979 NFL draft, new San Francisco 49ers head coach Bill Walsh flew to Morehead State with assistant coach Sam Wyche to work out Simms. Walsh was so impressed that he planned to draft Simms in the third round, preferring him over the quarterback they ultimately took, Joe Montana of Notre Dame. But the New York Giants decided to make Simms their first round pick (seventh overall) to the surprise of many. As Simms acknowledged, "most people have never heard of me." When Simms's name was announced by Commissioner Pete Rozelle in front of the audience at the draft in New York, his selection was booed loudly by the Giants fans in attendance. He was the second quarterback taken; Jack Thompson of Washington State went to Cincinnati with the third overall pick. Simms was not then happy being a Giant either, "All I was thinking was which teams I would rather play for—the Green Bay Packers, the Kansas City Chiefs, San Diego, San Francisco..." But he became popular with his teammates, who jokingly dubbed him "Prince Valiant" in his rookie training camp.
Simms won the first five starts of his rookie year in 1979; finishing with a 6–4 record, threw for 1,743 yards and 13 touchdown passes, and was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team. He was runner-up for Rookie of the Year, behind future teammate Ottis Anderson.
Simms' next four years were marred by injuries and inconsistent play. He finished the 1980 season with 15 touchdowns and 19 interceptions, while completing a subpar 48.0% of his passes for 2,321 yards. In 1981, Simms threw for 2,031 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions on 54.4% completion percentage before suffering a separated shoulder in a November 15 loss to the Washington Redskins. With Simms out, the Giants went on a run led by Scott Brunner and advanced to the second round of the playoffs. Simms suffered a torn knee ligament in a preseason game against the New York Jets, preventing him from playing the entire 1982 season. Following the season, Ray Perkins resigned as head coach to take over the same position at the University of Alabama, and was replaced by the team's defensive coordinator Bill Parcells. In the coming years this change would prove crucial to the Giants and Simms. One of Parcells' first decisions as coach was to replace Simms as the starting quarterback with Brunner. Simms asked to be traded after the benching, but his request was ignored. During the sixth game of the Giants' 1983 Season, Simms came in to replace the struggling Brunner against the Philadelphia Eagles. On his third drive, Simms suffered a season-ending injury when the thumb on his throwing hand hit a player's helmet on his follow-through. The injury was reported as a dislocation, but according to the book, Simms to McConkey, written by Phil McConkey, Simms, and Dick Schaap, the injury was much more severe, with the thumb literally hanging off after impact, and the bone sticking out through the skin. During his first few years on the team, Giants fans were merciless in their treatment of Simms, who they felt was a disappointment. He commented that his wife "had to sit up in the stands and listen to them cuss me." However, in 1984, after many seasons plagued by injuries and up-and-down play, Simms finally emerged as a team offensive leader. During his 1983 injury, offensive coordinator Ron Erhardt talked Simms into watching more game film, something he had not regularly done in college or the pros. He gained a better understanding of NFL defenses, his team's formations, and pass protection schemes, and improved his ability to audible at the line of scrimmage. He also changed his strength training regimen in an attempt to make his body more resistant to injury. He passed for 4,044 yards (second most in the National Football Conference (NFC)), 22 touchdown passes, and led the Giants to a playoff berth. He was voted to the Pro Bowl and named Pro Bowl MVP as he led the NFC to a comeback win over the American Football Conference (AFC) by throwing three touchdowns. In 1985, he passed for 3,829 yards, 22 touchdowns, and led the Giants to 10 victories, the most for a Giants team since 1963. In a game against the Cincinnati Bengals during the 1985 season, Simms passed for 513 yards—the fifth most passing yards in a single game in NFL history. In 1986, he passed for 3,487 yards and 21 touchdown passes during a season in which the Giants won 14 games. In week 11, he completed a desperate fourth-and-17 pass to Bobby Johnson late in the game to set up Raul Allegre's game-winning field goal, which gave the Giants a 22–20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Simms later commented:
