Editing Phil Simms (section)

===NFL draft===
Before the [[1979 NFL draft]], new [[1979 San Francisco 49ers season|San Francisco 49ers]] head coach [[Bill Walsh (American football coach)|Bill Walsh]] flew to Morehead State with assistant coach [[Sam Wyche]] to work out Simms.<ref>Simms and Meier. pp. 74–75.</ref> Walsh was so impressed that he planned to draft Simms in the third round, preferring him over the quarterback they ultimately took, [[Joe Montana]] of [[1978 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|Notre Dame]].<ref name="Sports Illustrated">King, Peter. {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130102145526/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1023438/index.htm "The Rating Game: Nfl Quarterback"]}}, ''Sports Illustrated'', Volume 95, issue 8, August 27, 2001, p. 60. {{ISSN|0038-822X}}</ref> But the [[1979 New York Giants season|New York Giants]] decided to make Simms their [[1979 NFL draft#Round one|first round]] pick (seventh overall) to the surprise of many.<ref name="Simms">Katz, Michael. [https://www.nytimes.com/1979/05/05/archives/giants-defend-value-in-choice-of-simms-perkins-optimistic-giants.html Giants Defend 'Value' in Choice of Simms; Perkins Optimistic Giants Selections], ''The New York Times'', May 5, 1979. Retrieved March 20, 2007.</ref> As Simms acknowledged, "most people have never heard of me."<ref name="Simms"/> When Simms's name was announced by Commissioner [[Pete Rozelle]] in front of the audience at the draft in New York, his selection was booed loudly by the Giants fans in attendance.<ref name=beefupbf>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AOkRAAAAIBAJ&pg=6902%2C1670873 |work=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington) |agency=Associated Press |title=Ohio State linebacker goes to beef up Buffalo |date=May 4, 1979 |page=49}}</ref><ref>Mooney, Roger. [http://www.bradenton.com/234/story/29444.html No team takes Phil Simms first in today's NFL]{{dead link|date=April 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ''[[Bradenton Herald]]'', April 22, 2007, accessed May 10, 2007.</ref> He was the second quarterback taken; [[Jack Thompson (American football)|Jack Thompson]] of [[1978 Washington State Cougars football team|Washington State]] went to [[1979 Cincinnati Bengals season|Cincinnati]] with the third overall pick. Simms was not then happy being a Giant either, "All I was thinking was which teams I would rather play for—the [[1979 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay Packers]], the [[1979 Kansas City Chiefs season|Kansas City Chiefs]], [[1979 San Diego Chargers season|San Diego]], San Francisco..."<ref>Whittingham. pg. 41</ref> But he became popular with his teammates, who jokingly dubbed him "[[Prince Valiant]]" in his rookie training camp.<ref>Katz, Michael. [https://www.nytimes.com/1979/05/11/archives/giants-test-simms-in-a-workout-pisarcik-overweight.html Giants Test Simms in A Workout; Pisarcik Overweight], ''The New York Times'', May 11, 1979. Retrieved March 20, 2007.</ref>