Willie Simmons, the reigning head coach of the HBCU national champion FAMU football team has been hired as the new head coach for Florida International University (FIU).
Simmons spent this season at Duke University as the running backs coach, helping the Blue Devils to a 9-3 record on the season. He follows former South Carolina State coach Willie Jeffries, Jackson State’s Deion Sanders, and former NCCU head coach Jerry Mack in an elite group who went from the HBCU ranks to lead FBS institutions.
Simmons, 44, was hired rather quickly after the firing of Mike MacIntyre after the Panthers fired him for three consecutive 4-8 seasons. The other name that surfaced as possible head coaches was Tim Harris Jr., the son of legendary south Florida coach Tim Harris. Harris Jr served as running backs coach at the University of Miami.
Things moved really fast for Simmons
Things have gone fast for Simmons. Less than a year ago, he was in Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta hoisting the Celebration Bowel trophy was his Rattlers had defeated the Howard Bison 30-26 for the HBCU National Championship. In reality, until a new champion is crowned on Dec. 14, Simmons is still the reigning head coach of the HBCU national champions in the Celebration Bowl.
Simmons came to FAMU with a mindset to restore the Rattler Football program to its rightful perch. He not only did that, but won a national championship. It was FAMU’s first national championship since 1998 and first championship won on the field since 1978. It was 45 years to the day when Simmons and the 2023 Rattlers won the Celebration Bowl Championship from when Rudy Hubbard and the 1978 Rattlers won the inaugural NCAA I-AA (now FCS) championship in Wichita Falls, Texas.
ESPN reports that Simmons has agreed to a four-year deal with Florida International University. That would secure his future and afford an opportunity to do much like he had to do at FAMU and previously at Prairie View. He had to break down the culture and rebuild it at FAMU. However, at Prairie View, Simmons had to instill a championship culture. He left the program in a good position that was able to elevate to the SWAC Championship shortly after his departure.