CBS Sports announced on Monday morning that it was revamping the cast of The NFL Today, adding former NFL quarterback Matt Ryan to the roster. Additionally, the sports division revealed that former NFL quarterbacks Phil Simms and Boomer Esiason would not be returning to the program. As a result, the cast of the venerated studio program next season looks to include host James Brown with analysts Bill Cowher, Nate Burleson and J.J. Watt, along with the aforementioned Ryan. In a discussion about the Atlanta Falcons strategy at the 2024 NFL Draft with ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter, Pat McAfee discussed the outcome that took place at CBS Sports.
“Matt Ryan after he retired from the Colts, he would go on to kill Boomer Esiason and Phil Simms,” McAfee said on Monday’s edition of The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN. “Yeah, him and J.J. just took them off TV. I think that’s how it works is they did that, so hell of a run Boom; way to go [Phil].”
Simms worked as a member of The NFL Today beginning in 2017 after serving as the lead game analyst for CBS Sports for 13 seasons. Esiason had been the longest-tenured studio analyst on the show with 22 seasons under his belt, but he had expressed on Boomer & Gio Monday morning on WFAN that he felt as if Super Bowl LVIII was his “swan song.” On Monday morning, Audacy announced that he had inked a multi-year contract extension with the company to continue hosting the morning program on WFAN, which will have him surpass Don Imus as the longest-tenured morning show host in the history of the station.
“Honestly, those two guys are legends and they had an unbelievable run, and [I] have great respect for both those guys and Boomer’s a personal friend – I love that guy,” Schefter said. “Mad respect for the careers in TV that they’ve had, truly.”
“Boomer’s work ethic is one we’re all striving for, but those two guys – end of an era,” McAfee added. “End of an era, and we appreciate them; getting to spend Sunday mornings with them.”
The announcement of these departures comes two weeks after longtime division chairman Sean McManus retired from the company. David Berson currently leads CBS Sports as its president and chief executive officer coming off a record-setting Super Bowl that averaged 123.7 million viewers. CBS Sports is slated to broadcast Super Bowl LXII that will conclude the 2027 NFL season as part of its decade-long media rights contract with the league that began last season.
