On the heels of very successful seasons for each program, Florida A&M and Benedict College’s head football coaches now have something to add to their personal trophy cases.
Rattlers head coach Willie Simmons was named the American Football Coaches Association’s Region 3 Coach of the Year, while the Tigers’ Chennis Berry was named Region 2 Coach of the Year for the second straight season.
Simmons’ Rattlers recently defeated Prairie View A&M 35-14 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game. It was FAMU’s first SWAC title and advanced them to the Celebration Bowl, where they’ll play Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion Howard on Dec. 16.
Simmons is 44-13 in five seasons at Florida A&M, including an FCS playoff appearance in 2021. His coaching record overall is 65-24 after three winning seasons at Prairie View.
Berry is 27-7 in three seasons at Benedict, including two Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships and perfect regular seasons in 2022 and 2023. The Tigers, ranked as high No. 4 in the country by the AFCA, recently completed their season with a 35-25 loss to LeNoir-Rhyne in the NCAA Division II playoffs.
Berry previously coached offensive line and was offensive coordinator at several schools, including SIAC rivals Morris Brown, Kentucky State and Fort Valley State, North Carolina A&T, Morgan State, Howard, and Southern. He was hired by Benedict in 2020.
