The departure of Florida A&M head football coach Willie Simmons after six years and five seasons brings to an end one of the most accomplished and successful tenures on the highest of seven hills in nearly 25 years. Simmons’ departure for an assistant coaching position at Duke University, is a move that may have been a surprise to many, but it should not have been unbelievable. FAMU alumni and supporters (aka, The FAMULY) made efforts to fundraise with the intent of giving VP of Intercollegiate Athletics, Tiffany-Dawn Sykes, enough financial support to present Coach Simmons with a matching or competitive counter-offer to the rumored $500K per year contract being offered by Duke. Alas, the efforts weren’t successful, but there were positives from the attempt that give FAMU and FAMU Athletics an opportunity to move forward with an inspired and optimistic fanbase. Marcus Green, co-host of The O&G StrikeZone, analyzes the departure and future of Florida A&M Football one week after the departure of Coach Willie Simmons. How Did We Get Here? 1. Warning signals This day was a long time coming and wasn't a secret. When Coach Simmons was hired in Dec. 2017 with a 5-year deal, more than a few FAMU alums personally remarked that if he achieved the level of success that was expected, and if he reached some or all of the incentives in the original contract (team APR improvement, Florida Classic win, FCS Playoff berth, Celebration Bowl win, Conf. Coach of the Year) that FAMU would be fortunate to have him make it to the 2nd contract. His age, ambition and acumen as a 'turnaround specialist' makes him an attractive hire for any school. He came over from Prairie View after leading them to a 9 win 1st season, and having them compete in the SWAC annually. Early 2018 - in a podcast with Mike Prince shortly after his FAMU hire, there were questions regarding Coach Simmons desire to return to the FBS level (MTSU assistant coach early in career) https://twitter.com/OBN_Radio/status/939215293880127488 When ESPNs Holly Rowe was a guest speaker at the Tallahassee QB Club in Nov. 2019 raved about Coach Simmons , said he was a 'rising coaching star'. Simmons was identified (April 2021) and participated in the National Coalition of Minority Coaches Coalition Alliance as 1 of 13 FCS coaches who could become FBS coaches and was assigned Debbie Yow, 1st female AD in ACC (NC State and Maryland) as mentor. In the 'What About Us?' ESPN documentary, episode No.4 starting at the 8:40 min. mark , he was asked about leaving for FBS, and he mentioned it would be hard to leave but he would at least listen. Coach Simmons was identified as a potential candidate for the Univ. of South Carolina RB coach vacancy under new HC Shane Beamer, just prior to the contract extension signed in 2021.

The Florida A&M Rattlers are recognized as the 2023 Black College Sports Network HBCU Division-I Football National Champions.