Phil Simms facts for kids
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Simms in 2019
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| No. 11 | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | November 3, 1955 Springfield, Kentucky, U.S. |
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| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 216 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Southern (Louisville, Kentucky) | ||||||||||||
| College: | Morehead State (1974–1978) | ||||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1979 / Round: 1 / Pick: 7 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||||||
Phil Simms (born November 3, 1955) is a former American football quarterback. He played for 14 seasons with the New York Giants in the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football at Morehead State, Simms was chosen by the Giants. He was the seventh player picked in the 1979 NFL draft.
Simms was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of Super Bowl XXI. He led the Giants to a big 39–20 win over the Denver Broncos. In that game, he set a Super Bowl record for accuracy. He completed 22 out of 25 passes (88%). He also had the highest passer rating in a Super Bowl at 150.9. Both of these records still stand today. He was also picked for the Pro Bowl in 1985 and 1993.
Phil Simms finished his playing career with 33,462 passing yards. After retiring, he became a football broadcaster. He worked as an analyst for ESPN, then as a commentator for NBC and CBS. He left CBS in 2024. Phil Simms is also the father of two former NFL quarterbacks, Chris Simms and Matt Simms.
Contents
Early Life and High School Football
Phil Simms was born in Springfield, Kentucky. He grew up on his grandfather's farm. Later, his family moved to Louisville, Kentucky. He went to St. Rita Catholic grade school. Simms played quarterback for Southern High School in Louisville. He graduated in 1974.
College Football Career
Simms decided to go to Morehead State University. It was a NCAA Division I FCS school in nearby Morehead, Kentucky.
The Morehead State Eagles used a careful offense. Simms's stats were not super flashy. In his last year, he completed 92 of 173 passes. This was a 53.2% completion percentage. He threw for six touchdown passes and 1,229 yards. The team did not make the playoffs during his time there. Simms finished his college career with 5,545 passing yards. This was a school record. Morehead State plans to rename its football stadium, Jayne Stadium, after Phil Simms in 2025.
Playing in the NFL
Joining the New York Giants
Before the 1979 NFL draft, many people didn't know much about Phil Simms. The San Francisco 49ers coach, Bill Walsh, was very impressed with Simms. He thought about drafting him. But the New York Giants surprised many by picking Simms. He was the seventh player chosen overall.
Giants fans at the draft booed the pick loudly. Simms himself wasn't thrilled to be a Giant at first. He thought about other teams he wanted to play for. But he soon became popular with his teammates. They even jokingly called him "Prince Valiant".
Rookie Season Success
Simms started his rookie year in 1979 very well. He won his first five games as a starter. He finished the season with a 6–4 record. He threw for 1,743 yards and 13 touchdown passes. He was also named to the NFL All-Rookie Team. He was almost named Rookie of the Year.
Overcoming Challenges: 1980–1986
The next few years were tough for Simms. He dealt with injuries and played inconsistently. In 1981, he hurt his shoulder. This kept him out of games. In 1982, he tore a knee ligament. This made him miss the whole season. After that, Bill Parcells became the Giants' new head coach.
At first, Coach Parcells benched Simms. Simms even asked to be traded. But his request was not granted. In 1983, Simms got another serious injury to his throwing hand. It was a very bad injury.
However, in 1984, Simms finally became a strong leader for the team. He started watching more game films. This helped him understand NFL defenses better. He also worked harder on his strength. He threw for 4,044 yards that year. This was the second most in the National Football Conference (NFC). He also had 22 touchdown passes. He led the Giants to the playoffs.
He was chosen for the Pro Bowl and was named Pro Bowl MVP. In 1985, he threw for 3,829 yards and 22 touchdowns. He led the Giants to 10 wins. In one game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Simms threw for 513 yards. This was one of the most passing yards in a single NFL game ever. In 1986, the Giants won 14 games. Simms threw for 3,487 yards and 21 touchdowns.
On January 25, 1987, the Giants played the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI. Simms played one of the best games in Super Bowl history. He completed 22 out of 25 passes for 268 yards. He set Super Bowl records for accuracy (88%) and passer rating (150.9). He also threw 3 touchdown passes. Giants coach Bill Parcells said it might have been the best game a quarterback ever played. The Giants won 39–20. Simms was named the Super Bowl MVP. He is known for being the first person to say "I'm going to Disney World!" after winning a championship.
Later Career and Retirement: 1987–1993
Simms continued to play well in the following years. In 1987, he had the second highest quarterback rating in the NFC. In 1989, the Giants started strong with an 8–1 record. They finished the season 12–4.
In 1990, Simms was having another great season. He led the NFC with the highest quarterback rating (92.7). He also led the Giants to an 11–3 record. But his season ended early. He broke his foot in a game against the Buffalo Bills. The Giants went on to win Super Bowl XXV against the Bills. Jeff Hostetler filled in as quarterback.
After the Super Bowl win, Coach Parcells left. Ray Handley became the new coach. Handley chose Hostetler as the starting quarterback. Simms played only a few games until Hostetler got hurt. Simms then became the starter again.
In 1992, Simms won the starting job back. But he suffered a bad arm injury in Week 4. This made him miss the rest of the season. The Giants then hired a new coach, Dan Reeves. Reeves chose Simms as his starting quarterback for the 1993 season. Simms started all 16 games that year. He led the Giants to an 11–5 record. They even won a playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings.
After the 1993 season, Simms had shoulder surgery. The surgery was successful. He was expected to be ready for the next season. However, the Giants released him later that offseason. Simms then decided to retire from football. The team's co-owner, Wellington Mara, was very sad about the decision. Simms later said that Mara didn't want him to leave.
Phil Simms played 14 seasons with the Giants. He completed 2,576 passes for 33,462 yards. He also threw 199 touchdowns. At the time he retired, his career passing yards ranked 11th in NFL history. He still holds some New York Giants passing records. Sports Illustrated once called Simms the "Most Underrated Quarterback" in NFL history.
NFL Career Statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Super Bowl MVP | |
| Won the Super Bowl | |
| Bold | Career high |
Regular Season Stats
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | ||
| 1979 | NYG | 12 | 11 | 6–5 | 134 | 265 | 50.6 | 1,743 | 6.6 | 13 | 14 | 66.0 |
| 1980 | NYG | 13 | 13 | 3–10 | 193 | 402 | 48.0 | 2,321 | 5.8 | 15 | 19 | 58.9 |
| 1981 | NYG | 10 | 10 | 5–5 | 172 | 316 | 54.4 | 2,031 | 6.4 | 11 | 9 | 74.0 |
| 1983 | NYG | 2 | 0 | — | 7 | 13 | 53.8 | 130 | 10.0 | 0 | 1 | 56.6 |
| 1984 | NYG | 16 | 16 | 9–7 | 286 | 533 | 53.7 | 4,044 | 7.6 | 22 | 18 | 78.1 |
| 1985 | NYG | 16 | 16 | 10–6 | 275 | 495 | 55.6 | 3,829 | 7.7 | 22 | 20 | 78.6 |
| 1986 | NYG | 16 | 16 | 14–2 | 259 | 468 | 55.3 | 3,487 | 7.5 | 21 | 22 | 74.6 |
| 1987 | NYG | 9 | 9 | 4–5 | 163 | 282 | 57.8 | 2,230 | 7.9 | 17 | 9 | 90.0 |
| 1988 | NYG | 15 | 15 | 9–6 | 253 | 479 | 54.9 | 3,359 | 7.0 | 21 | 11 | 82.1 |
| 1989 | NYG | 15 | 15 | 11–4 | 228 | 405 | 56.3 | 3,061 | 7.6 | 14 | 14 | 77.6 |
| 1990 | NYG | 14 | 14 | 11–3 | 184 | 311 | 59.2 | 2,284 | 7.3 | 15 | 4 | 92.7 |
| 1991 | NYG | 6 | 4 | 1–3 | 82 | 141 | 58.3 | 993 | 7.0 | 8 | 4 | 87.0 |
| 1992 | NYG | 4 | 4 | 1–3 | 83 | 137 | 60.6 | 812 | 6.7 | 5 | 3 | 83.3 |
| 1993 | NYG | 16 | 16 | 11–5 | 247 | 400 | 61.8 | 3,038 | 7.6 | 15 | 9 | 88.3 |
| Total | 164 | 159 | 95–64 | 2,576 | 4,647 | 55.4 | 33,462 | 7.2 | 199 | 157 | 78.5 | |
Playoff Stats
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | ||
| 1984 | NYG | 2 | 2 | 1–1 | 47 | 75 | 62.7 | 397 | 5.3 | 0 | 2 | 65.2 |
| 1985 | NYG | 2 | 2 | 1–1 | 29 | 66 | 67.1 | 390 | 5.9 | 2 | 1 | 67.1 |
| 1986 | NYG | 3 | 3 | 3–0 | 38 | 58 | 65.5 | 494 | 8.5 | 8 | 0 | 131.8 |
| 1989 | NYG | 1 | 1 | 0–1 | 14 | 29 | 48.3 | 180 | 6.2 | 0 | 1 | 53.8 |
| 1990 | NYG | 0 | 0 | did not play due to injury | ||||||||
| 1993 | NYG | 2 | 2 | 1–1 | 29 | 51 | 56.9 | 218 | 4.3 | 0 | 2 | 50.9 |
| Total | 10 | 10 | 6–4 | 157 | 279 | 56.3 | 1,679 | 6.0 | 10 | 6 | 77.0 | |
Life After Football
On September 4, 1995, the Giants retired Phil Simms' jersey number. This means no other Giants player will wear his number 11. During a special ceremony, Simms said he wanted to throw one more pass to his teammate Lawrence Taylor. Taylor caught the pass, and the crowd cheered loudly.
After retiring as a player in 1994, Simms became a sports broadcaster. He first worked for ESPN. Then he joined NBC and later CBS. He was a lead commentator for NFL games. He also worked on the show Inside the NFL on Showtime. In 2017, he joined the CBS pregame show The NFL Today. He left CBS after his contract ended in 2023. Simms has also worked as an analyst for Westwood One.
Simms has also been involved in other media. He co-hosted the Miss Universe 2002 pageant. He appeared as himself on the TV shows As the World Turns, The Price Is Right, and How I Met Your Mother. He also appeared on the show Elementary.
Family Life
Phil Simms and his wife, Diana, live in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. They have three children: Chris, Deirdre, and Matt. His son-in-law, Brian Toal, also played in the NFL. Simms likes living in New Jersey. He once said it's "just like anywhere else."
In 2011, Phil Simms was honored. He was inducted into the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame.
See also
In Spanish: Phil Simms para niños
- History of the New York Giants (1979–1993)
- List of 500-yard passing games in the National Football League
