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When Florida International University began its 2024 head coaching search, they were looking for the ultimate winner, and Willie Simmons is just that. The FIU Panthers announced their hiring of Simmons on December 7th, shortly after the end of the CFB regular season.
Simmons' hire comes as a splash move for a football program that has historically struggled. In the past 20 years, the Panthers have only had four winning seasons.
“Willie is a proven winner. In his eight seasons as a head coach, he has never had a losing season,“ said FIU Athletics Director Scott Carr. “We have the utmost confidence in him building a competitive program that will compete for championships.“
While Simmons spent his 2024 season as the running backs coach at Duke University, his destiny was always as a head coach.
“I look forward to leading this program to new heights as we strive to match our athletic prowess with the academic greatness of this world-class institution,“ said Simmons per FIU athletics.
Simmons served as the head coach of Prairie View A&M (2015-17) and Florida A&M University (2018-2023). In nine seasons as a head coach, Simmons tallied an overall 66-24 record.
Simmons immediately made history for the Prairie View A&M Panthers in his first season as their head coach. In 2015, the Panthers (8-2) held the top-scoring offense in the nation (44.9 PPG) and ranked eighth in total offense. Simmons also became the Panther's first head coach to have a winning record in his first season.
Additionally, the Panther's nine-win season tied for the most in a season since 1964. Simmons went on to go 7-4 in 2016 and 6-5 in 2017. His 21-11 record led to the Panthers witnessing three consecutive winning seasons for only the second time in 50 years. Simmons became an intriguing coaching candidate as he rebuilt the Panthers into a contender over time. So when Florida A&M Rattlers earned their sixth straight losing season, they knocked on Simmons' door — and he answered.
Willie Simmons quickly turned Florida A&M into a consistent winner and national powerhouse during his five-year tenure as head coach. In his first year (2018), Simmons broke the Rattlers' streak of losing seasons with a 6-5 record and finished second in the MEAC.
The following year, Simmons led the Rattlers to a stellar 9-2 campaign that saw FAMU crack the FCS Top 25 rankings at No. 21. After missing the 2020 season due to COVID-19, FAMU joined the Southwestern Athletic Conference in 2021.
That year, the Rattlers went 9-3 and earned their first FCS playoff berth since 2001. In 2022, FAMU continued its ascent with another 9-3 record and a runner-up finish for the SWAC East division. Then, Simmons' took winning to another level in his final year with FAMU.
In 2023, Simmons guided the Rattlers to a historic 12-1 record. The Rattlers' dominance earned them multiple titles, including the SWAC championship and the Black College National Championship. They additionally defeated Howard University 30-26 in the 2023 Cricket Celebration Bowl, capping off the tremendous season.
As the perfect storybook ending to a success-riddled tenure, Simmons finished the year earning SWAC Coach of The Year. A struggling Florida A&M team knocked on Willie Simmons' door after witnessing how he turned around Prairie View's football culture. Now, just years later, Simmons has another knock on his door — FIU.
Luckily for FIU, Simmons has once again answered his door, and now… it is time to work.
