The college football coach carousel is still underway, and Willie Simmons may or may not be on that trip.
News circulated on social media on Saturday afternoon that Florida A&M’s head coach had received the offer for the position of running back coach at the University of South Carolina.
Simmons spoke to Vaughn Wilson of HBCU Gameday and didn’t say he was leaving, but he didn’t say he was going to stay either.
“I just spoke to coach Willie Simmons and he is confused about how it all started,” said Wilson. “He said he has a focus now that is the day of signing and preparing his team for the debut and his return to SWAC.”
A source close to Simmons told HBCU Gameday that he is not denying the job offer. In addition, other reliable information suggests that Simmons is being courted by the SEC school.
New coach Shane Beamer is looking to complete his team, including a running back coach. Des Kitchings was hired when Beamer took over from Will Muschamp in Columbia. He is going to the Atlanta Falcons, despite having recently been approved for a $ 120,000 increase in the Board of Trustees.
Simmons’ current FAMU agreement, signed in 2018, is worth $ 300,000. That’s the same amount of money Kitchgings was earning before his raise was approved. If Simmons accepted the position of coach from South Carolina, he would probably be in a major situation.
Simmons was successful in his short stint at FAMU. He took the program to a 9-2 finish in 2019, the best record in the MEAC. FAMU was not named a MEAC champion due to post-season penalties from a previous administration, however. He served as head coach on Prairie View for three seasons before coming to Tallahassee, which was preceded by a stint as an assistant in Alcorn State.
Simmons knows FBS football well, however. He started his university career at Clemson University before finishing it at Citadel. Nor would he be the first MEAC head coach to leave for a position coach position at FBS. Jerry Mack left central North Carolina after four winning seasons and two MEAC titles to take on as offensive coordinator at Rice after the 2017 season.