New head football coach has fans dreaming of victory

A relationship-builder with a history of winning has accepted FIU football’s top coaching job.

Willie Simmons earned the nod over the weekend and today met with an excited Panther faithful during a pep rally and introductions in the GC Pit.

Athletic Director Scott Carr said that in a field of many, Simmons easily bested the pack to come out on top. Carr said he met with the players in advance of the formal search and took their input to heart as he sought out a worthy leader.

“Based on their feedback, there were four main criteria that we were really looking for,” he said. “They wanted a winner. Someone who could recruit [in] Florida, especially South Florida. Someone who is a relationship-builder and could establish deep, authentic relationships with them. And someone who could excite and ignite the South Florida community and Panther Nation. And I'm happy to tell you, we found our leader who checked all four boxes and so many more I can't even count.

“Willie Simmons’ strength is his natural ability to build deep, genuine relationships,” Carr continued. “It was something that really stood out when I was making a lot of phone calls during the search process. And when I’d get somebody on the phone and just say, tell me about Willie Simmons, without a doubt, the first thing they would tell me is about the relationships and how much the young men that play football for him love him and appreciate the way that he treats them and the way he talks to them, his honesty and just how he's so genuine.”

The Florida native, 44, grew up near Tallahassee before attending Clemson University as a starting quarterback. He has served as a head coach for nine seasons and earned a winning record in each. Most recently, he spent the 2024 season as an assistant coach overseeing the running backs at Duke University, where he helped guide the ACC team to a 9-3 record. Prior to that, he transformed the Florida A&M program, where he served for six years as head coach and compiled a 45-13 (.776) overall record and led the Rattlers to two HBCU National Championships (2019, 2023) and their first Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship and Celebration Bowl title in 2023.

The first Clemson player to graduate with a degree in a record three years, Simmons has plans to coach the young men under his charge in a holistic way.

President Kenneth A. Jessell praised the new head coach and called out his “focus on excellence off the field, too, meaning academic excellence and the success of our student-athletes as they pursue their degrees to be job-ready when they graduate. And this is a mindset that aligns perfectly with FIU.”

The father of six - the youngest of whom were home sleeping while the older ones joined mom Shaia Beckwith at the campus event – shared his vision for “excellence” and a return to the type of glory days that instill pride.

“With the help of the coaching and support staff that we'll put together, we’re ready to build on that history and the tradition of this program,” he said. “We want to build on the 2010 first-ever bowl win in conference championships. We want to build teams . . . that have future NFL players [like alumni] T.Y. Hilton, Johnathan Cyprien . . . We want to build on the three consecutive bowl games from 2017 to 2019. And, of course, we want to build on the 2019 victory over University of Miami. We’re committed to being a team that produces NFL players who can ignite the entire country like [alumnus and Miami Dolphins tight end] Jonnu Smith did last night with a game-winning touchdown. I look forward to blazing the trail again to bring a new level of success and excellence to the 305.”

Those rallying in attendance felt the fire of passion.

“I’m excited to see what Coach Simmons is able to bring to the FIU football program and see our Panther Nation and our Panther family show up to these football games,” said student body president Francesca Casanova.

“Even before I got to work today, my husband kept me informed all weekend about FIU's new coach,” said Ana M. Jimenez, assistant director of Academic Support Services, about her alumnus-husband’s positive reaction to Simmons’ coming on board. “We are so excited.”

The players had their first meeting with the head coach on Saturday and likewise look forward to next season with great anticipation.

“He's been a proven winner before, so I think he'll continue to keep that up here,” said redshirt sophomore Nate Henry, a running back.

“He's a winner,” agreed senior J.T. Anderson, a defensive back. “He likes to win. We want to win.”