NBC football analyst Chris Simms appeared on The Dan Patrick show on Friday morning. He revealed that his life and celebrity could have taken a very different turn in 2004. He told Dan Patrick that he was approached about starring in season five of ABC’s The Bachelor before Jesse Palmer was eventually cast.
Simms says taking the job was never really an option for him. He was entering just his second season in the NFL and was hoping to become the Tampa Baay Buccaneers’ starting quarterback. He says that he knew then-Bucs’ coach Jon Gruden would not have been happy to see him on reality TV dating show.
Jesse Palmer was a backup quarterback for the New York Giants at the time. 2004 was his fourth professional season, and his last in the Big Apple. He would play one more season for the San Francisco 49ers before retiring.
Palmer clearly made the most of his relationship with Disney. He has been a college football analyst for ESPN, ABC, and the SEC Network since 2007.
As for Simms, his broadcasting career began in 2013 when he joined FOX Sports as a college football analyst. He spent two seasons as an NFL Analyst for CBS. Since 2016 he has worked for NBC covering both the NFL and Notre Dame football.
