Simmons will join Duke, winner of the Birmingham Bowl, as running backs coach.
Florida A&M’s success under head football coach Willie Simmons hasn’t gone unnoticed. But the attention giveth and the attention taketh away.
Three Florida State players recently announced that they’re
“Looking at where I want to ultimately be in my career – to have the type of platform on a national stage to lead young men, to have a voice that resonates throughout college football, not just the HBCU landscape – I think this was a pivotal step for me to take,” he said. “We have to position ourselves to do those things. I would love to think that could happen at FAMU. The reality of it is – it just hasn’t.
Simmons noted that only three HBCU head coaches have gone directly to jobs as FBS head coaches. Willie Jefferies went from South Carolina State to Wichita State in 1979; Jay Hopson (a white coach) went from Alcorn State to Southern Miss in 2016; and Deion Sanders went from Jackson State to Colorado last season. The latter, “for all intents and purposes, is a one-off,” Simmons said. “There’s only one Deion “Prime” Sanders.”
FAMU’s only SWAC losses were in 2021 and 2022, both against Jackson State under Sanders. The Rattlers were perfect in league play last year as they ascended to the top of HBCU football. With alum Markquese Bell making headlines as a Dallas Cowboys rookie, Simmons and FAMU were hot.
But the Rattlers’ situation has cooled since James Colzie III was named interim head coach. Two former FSU players who were headed to FAMU have decommitted and re-entered the transfer portal.
The success gave, and now the success has taken away.
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