Mike Tomlin shining on NBC's pre- and post-game coverage of "Sunday Night Football" is not a surprise. His analysis on "Football Night in America" has provided a coach's perspective without being too polite. NBC is giving Tomlin the ball and letting him be the volume shooter.
That would not have been the case had the network stuck with the show's previous format. Maria Taylor still hosts and has rapport with Tomlin. But former analysts Chris Simms, Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison sticking around would have created a crowded scene. NBC has Jason Garrett and Devin McCourty currently alongside Tomlin.
For Simms, who announced his dismissal from the show in April the morning after Tomlin's hire became official, "it stings" because he was never told
that he needed to improve or do anything differently.
“It stings I’m not on that show anymore,” Simms told Barrett Sports Media. “I did love doing it, and it kind of felt like it was coming that way. When they tell you you’re awesome on the show and grading higher than anybody every week, then you don’t get to go on the show in the future, you’re a little confused by it.”
A member of "FNIA" for seven years, Simms was complimentary of Tomlin on TV but also told the outlet he believes the former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach will return to the sidelines in the near future.
"He’s really good at it, but I think he’s a great coach. He’s a great leader of men. Also, the best communicator of any coach I’ve ever been in a locker room with,” said Simms, who remains in the NBC family by co-hosting "Pro Football Talk" Live. “The way they’re paying these coaches now, if there’s a situation he likes, I don’t think he’ll turn it down. That’s just a guess.”
Simms played eight seasons in the NFL as a backup quarterback and joined NBC in 2016. He is the son of former NFL quarterback and broadcaster Phil Simms.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chris Simms 'confused' by NBC decision to move him off SNF NFL coverage
