Jimmy Snyder, nicknamed "The Greek," joined the program in 1976. Jack Whitaker also contributed to the program as an occasional reporter and essayist during this period. It was during this period that The NFL Today began an 18-year run as the highest-rated program in its time slot, lasting until the network lost the broadcast rights to Fox in 1994, the longest consecutive run for a television program in a consistent time slot. By this time, the program began the complex process of producing three separate live pre-game, halftime and postgame programs for 1:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m. (through 1981) and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) games. Also for the first time, signature musical pieces are produced for NFL coverage. The show's signature theme was "Horizontal Hold," a piece by Jan Stoeckart (recorded under his pseudonym of Jack Trombey). The NFL Today was among the recipients of the Sports Emmy Awards in its inaugural event in 1979. Phyllis George was replaced by former Miss Ohio USA Jayne Kennedy beginning with the 1978 NFL season, before George returned to the program for the 1980 NFL season. George was replaced on the program by Charlsie Cantey midway into the 1983 NFL season, after going on parental leave, with George ultimately departing the program outright. Jimmy Snyder was dismissed by CBS Sports on January 16, 1988, one day after making comments about racial differences among NFL players on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Musburger announced Snyder's dismissal on The NFL Today prior to the Minnesota Vikings-Washington Redskins NFC Championship Game the next day. Snyder's slot on The NFL Today would subsequently be filled by Dick Butkus for the next two seasons. Gumbel and Bradshaw (1990–1993) After the 1989 NFL season, Musburger was abruptly fired on April 1, 1990, following a power shift at CBS (he later resurfaced at ABC), while Cross was demoted to the position of game analyst. They were replaced by former ESPN football analyst and WFAN morning host Greg Gumbel (brother of then-Today co-host Bryant Gumbel), legendary former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw and longtime sportswriter Lesley Visser (then the wife of CBS announcer Dick Stockton), bringing a female reporter back to The NFL Today for the first time since Super Bowl XVIII. On December 18, 1993, the NFL awarded Fox a four-year contract (worth $1.58 billion) for the broadcast television rights to the National Football Conference (NFC), allowing that network to carry