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    • Who is Willie Simmons? Here's what you should know about the Duke running backs coach
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    Who is Willie Simmons? Here's what you should know about the Duke running backs coach

    Kathleen William Posted on

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    When Manny Diaz accepted the Duke football job this past offseason, he may have found an overqualified candidate to be his running backs coach.

    Diaz, who is in his first season as Blue Devils coach and turned to a familiar face, hired former Florida A&M head coach Willie Simmons on Jan. 1. Simmons had led the Rattlers to a 30-26 victory over Howard to secure the title of the program's first HBCU Celebration Bowl.

    Required reading: FSU at Duke has “a lot of meaning” for Blue Devils assistant coach Willie Simmons.

    Simmons, a former Division I quarterback, has played an important role in helping the Blue Devils' running backs this season. The group is led by star running back Star Thomas, who has 113 carries for 528 yards and three touchdowns.

    On Friday, the Blue Devils are 6-1 and 3-0 in ACC play and will face Florida State (1-5, 1-4) at Wade Wallace Stadium. Tallahassee, where FSU is located, is about 25 miles from Simmons' hometown of Quincy, Florida, and is also home to Simmons' former coaching position at FAMU. Simmons will be competing against the school he rooted for as a child.

    “I don't circle games per se, but it's a game that has a lot of meaning to me because I'm a guy from this area,” Simmons said in an interview with the Tallahassee Democrat this week. “It will be great to see all these familiar faces on the sidelines before the game and battle it out with them.”

    Here's what you need to know about Simmons, including his playing career, stats, coaching record and more:

    Who is Willie Simmons?

    Simmons, 43, was born on October 12, 1980 in Quincy, Florida. Simmons was a standout athlete at Shanks High School in Quincy, where he threw for over 6,000 yards and 96 touchdowns during his prep career. Simmons attended Clemson University, where he played under Tommy Bowden, son of legendary FSU coach Bobby Bowden.

    Simmons was a letterman for the Tigers for three seasons (2000-02), throwing for 2,530 yards and 16 touchdowns in 24 games with Clemson. As a freshman, he set the then-program record with four touchdown passes while playing as a backup to starter Woodrow Dantzler.

    He finished his playing career with The Citadel before playing one season professionally in the National Arena League. Following his college career, Simmons played for the Sioux City Bandits for one season in 2005. He was the only player in the league to have a passing, rushing, receiving and return touchdown.

    Simmons began his coaching career in 2005 at Lincoln High School in Tallahassee, where he served as quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator. He then took a graduate assistant position under Tommy Bowden at Clemson in 2006, working with the offense. He then served as an assistant at Middle Tennessee and Alcorn State before taking the head coaching position at Prairie View A&M.

    He was hired as FAMU's football coach on December 12, 2017 and compiled a 45-13 record in five seasons, including a 34-5 record in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. FAMU has had four straight nine-win seasons under Simmons, including a 12-1 record last season. He led the Rattlers to two HBCU National Championships in 2019 and 2023, the program's first SWAC championship in 2023 and the Celebration Bowl title in 2023.

    Why did Willie Simmons leave FAMU?

    Simmons left FAMU on Jan. 1 to take the running backs coach position with the Blue Devils. He is once again teaming up with Diaz, who was on the same team at Middle Tennessee from 2007 to 2009. Simmons was the running backs coach while Diaz was the defensive coordinator.

    In the interview with the Tallahassee Democrat, Simmons talked about what he hopes to accomplish with the demotion from an FCS football head coach to a position coach with the Blue Devils at the FBS level.

    “I’m just trying to be an asset to the program. I learn a lot from (Diaz),” Simmons said. “So if the opportunity to run my own program comes up again, I will take a lot of things from him.”

    • 2024-current: Duke (Running Backs)
    • 2018-23: Florida A&M (head coach)
    • 2015-17: Prairie View A&M (head coach)
    • 2012-14: Alcorn State (offensive coordinator/running backs)
    • 2011: Middle Tennessee (Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs)
    • 2010: Middle Tennessee (Passing Game Coordinator/Running Backs)
    • 2007-09: Middle Tennessee (Running Backs)
    • 2006: Clemson (Graduate Assistant/Attack)
    • 2005: Lincoln High School in Tallahassee, Florida (passing game coordinator/quarterbacks)

    Willie Simmons stats

    Simmons was a three-year letterman with the Clemson Tigers from 2000 to 2002 under Tommy Bowden, son of legendary Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden. Simmons initially transferred to Florida A&M University for his senior season. Because FAMU was in a provisional status as a Division 1-A (now FBS) program, he was deemed ineligible and enrolled at The Citadel in 2003, where he earned First Team All-Southern Conference honors.

    Here's a look at Simmons' stats at Clemson:

    • 2000: 36 of 80 passes (45%) for 616 passing yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions
    • 2001: 19 of 51 passes (37.3%) for 235 passing yards, one touchdown and three interceptions
    • 2002: 142 of 244 passes (58.2%) for 1,559 passes, six touchdowns and seven interceptions
    • Career: 197 of 375 passes (52.5%) for 2,410 passes, 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions

    Willie Simmons' coaching record

    Here's a look at Simmons' coaching career as a head coach:

    • 2015 (Prairie View A&M): 8-2, 8-1 (SWAC)
    • 2016 (Prairie View A&M): 7-4 (7-2 SWAC)
    • 2017 (Prairie View A&M): 6-5 (4-3 SWAC)
    • 2018 (Florida A&M): 6-5 (5-2 MAC)
    • 2019 (Florida A&M): 9-2 (7-1 MAC)
    • 2020 (Florida A&M): No season, COVID-19
    • 2021 (Florida A&M): 9-3 (7-1 SWAC)
    • 2022 (Florida A&M): 9-2 (7-1 SWAC)
    • 2023 (Florida A&M): 12-1 (8-0 SWAC)
    • Career: 66-24
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    Kathleen William
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