NFL Fans Float Theory For Why NBC Fired Chris Simms

Chris Simms won't be part of NBC's "Sunday Night Football" crew this upcoming season, but fans aren't sure why that decision was made.

Simms, the son of Super Bowl-winning New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms, has been an analyst on "Football Night In America" since 2017. Although he seemed to have good chemistry with Jac Collinsworth, Tony Dungy, Jason Garrett and Rodney Harrison, it was pretty evident that NBC wanted to go in a different direction.

"I will not be part of ‘Football Night in America.' They told me that last week, so that's just going to be a different aspect," Simms said. "That hurt because I do love it.

Dungy has also been told that he won't return to "Football Night In America." As for Collinsworth and Harrison, there's a chance they won't come back either.

Even though NBC was rumored to overhaul its "Football Night In America" crew earlier this year, fans are convinced Simms was removed from his role because of remarks he recently made about Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel.

During an episode of "PFT Live," Simms made it sound like coaches around the league knew about Russini and Vrabel spending time together.

"It's the biggest story in the NFL," Simms said. "I'd shoot you straight. These are things that I've been texting with my friends in the coaching world. Even their wives are involved in the conversation."

Did NBC remove Simms because of his comments about Russini?

"Chris Simms was FIRED by NBC from their Sunday Night Football coverage not long after when he almost reveled what coaches & their wives have been telling him about Patriots HC Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini," MLFootball wrote on X.

"He was on target the whole time, no one knew what the target was except him," one fan said.

"Fire a guy for reporting the truth? Why is everybody trying to "run cover" for these 2," another fan asked.

Despite all the chatter online, there's zero proof that NBC removed Simms from its "Sunday Night Football" coverage because of his recent remarks. Besides, he'll continue to be on "PFT Live" until further notice.

This really seems to be a rare case of just poor timing from NBC.

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This story was originally published April 29, 2026 at 5:41 AM.