Days after Shawn Gibbs was rumored to be the frontrunner to replace Willie Simmons as head coach of Florida A&M, current interim head coach James Colzie III still remains determined and willing to assume the position. Per comments obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat, Colzie is still optimistic that he'll get the job.

“You hope at the end of the day, everyone does what’s best for Florida A&M, and I think that’s where we're headed,” Colzie said in a quote obtained by Gerald Thomas III. “When you lose a big-time figure like Coach Simmons, you want to make sure you get the right piece. I’m extremely optimistic that I’ll get the opportunity to lead our young men.”

Colzie also said in the article that he and Vice President of Athletics Tiffani-Dawn Sykes have had several conversations last week about his chances at the position and that the talks have been favorable. Colzie surely has the support of the football players, as members of the team have consistently mentioned his name and Billy Rolle as their preferred candidates for the position.

“We know the perfect guy to lead us. We’re all lobbying for coach James Colzie. We just pray and hope they make the right decision so we keep our team together and go back and do the same thing…I feel like we got all the right pieces to come back and win another championship,” said 2023 Celebration Bowl MVP Kelvin Dean.

Following the departure of Willie Simmons from the program, Colzie was named the interim head coach of the program by Sykes amid a search for the next head coach. Florida A&M alumni and fans as well as players clamored for Rolle or Colzie to assume the position of head coach but were shocked when the Rattler Nation Blog reported that Fort Valley State head coach Shawn Gibbs was Sykes's preferred candidate.

Gibbs and Sykes have a professional bond that originated during their tenure at Grambling. Sykes served as the Director of Compliance, while Gibbs worked as the Running Backs coach under then-head coach Rod Broadway.

In the 2022 season, Gibbs transitioned to Fort Valley State University and guided the Wildcats to an impressive 8-2 record. Building upon that success, Gibbs led Fort Valley State to another remarkable season, finishing with an 8-3 record and securing a victory in the inaugural Florida Beach Bowl.

Florida A&M fans and supporters were outraged by the news, wanting an internal hire such as Colzie to maintain the continuity that the program built under Simmons. Rattler fans were also frustrated by the secrecy around the future coaching hire, as no official announcement on the direction of the program has occurred in the days following the rumors of Gibbs possibly becoming head coach circulated.

It appears as if more clarity around the Florida A&M coaching situation will occur on Tuesday, January 16th at 1 PM during the Board of Trustees meeting. Per WCTV sports reporter/anchor Alison Posey, the agenda for the meeting has been released and Sykes is slated to give an update on the head coaching search. The meeting will be streamed on Zoom.