Fla. A&M’s Simmons going to Duke
Fred Jeter | 1/11/2024, 6 p.m.
For the second straight season, the SWAC football Coach of the Year is changing addresses.
Florida A&M coach Willie Simmons is headed for Duke University where he will serve as running backs coach under newly named Head Coach Manny Diaz.
A year ago, Jackson State’s Deion Sanders departed to become head coach at Colorado.
Simmons, 43 and a native of Tallahassee, was 45-13 in six years at A&M, including 12-1 this season with the Rattlers winning theSWAC and Celebration Bowl titles.
Prior to coaching at A&M, he was 21-11 in three seasons at SWAC affiliate Prairie View A&M. Overall his record is 66-24, including 32-5 against conference foes.
Simmons was also an assistant coach with Diaz at Middle Tennessee State.
As a player, Simmons was a quarterback at Clemson and The Citadel.
Simmons’ A&M salary was $300,000 with incentives worth another $135,000 that he earned this season. A&M upped the ante when it appeared Simmons might be leaving, but it wasn’t enough.
No new Rattlers coach had been named by Free Press deadline. The top assistants were Associate Head Coach Ryan Smith and Assistant Head Coach James Colzie III.
