The process of replacing Willie Simmons as FAMU head football coach has been formally requested to slow down.
FAMU Boosters Inc, a booster club for Florida A&M, submitted a letter to Florida A&M President Dr. Larry Robinson requesting that the hiring process be slowed down. This comes less than 48 hours after initial reports that Fort Valley State University head coach Shawn Gibbs was the lead candidate to replace Simmons.
Booster club president Selvin Cobb told the Tallahassee Democrat that he spoke with Dr. Robinson on Tuesday and expressed that he thought the Gibbs choice as a “bad decion” and “not a good fit.”
“There has been no presentation of other highly qualified candidates being considered,” the letter states. “Therefore, the Boosters are requesting that you suspend any further head coach search activity until the Athletic Director addresses the university community on this subject.”
FAMU VP of Intercollegiate Athletics Tiffani-Dawn Sykes finds herself at the center of the controversy. Sykes requested assistance from the National Alumni Association in the final days of the year as reports leaked that Simmons would be taking a job as a running backs coach at Duke University The FAMUNAA raised $140,000 in 48 hours to help retain Simmons and fund the program – including past and current bonuses.
Now the stakeholders want to have a voice in the search committee.
“We also request that major stakeholders are represented in the official Search Committee process for the Football Coach by you appointing an official Search Committee that can keep stakeholders abreast and provide discussion forums about the candidates,” the letter continues.
The FAMU National Alumni Association scheduled a virtual meeting for Wednesday night at 8 P.M.
“We appreciate the passion of our stakeholders and welcome their input,” Robinson said. “Athletics is an integral part of our culture. We are working to hire the next football coach at FAMU.”