Willie Simmons, who had a successful stint as an HBCU football coach, including leading Florida A&M to a Black National Championship, was hired to be the next head coach at Florida International.
The news was first reported on Saturday by ESPN senior college football writer Adam Rittenberg.
Simmons, who spent the 2024 season as the running backs coach at Duke, is receiving a four-year contract from FIU, according Rittenberg to replace Mike MacIntyre, who was fired after going 12-24 over three seasons.
Before his lone season at Duke, Simmons was the head coach at FAMU from 2018-23. He went 45-13 and won the SWAC title in 2023 and the Celebration Bowl, which delivered the school an HBCU national title. Under Simmons, the Rattlers also qualified for the FCS playoffs in 2022.
Simmons had previously been identified as a possible target for the then-vacant job at Florida Atlantic in 2023.
Simmons previously worked as an assistant at Clemson, Middle Tennessee, and Alcorn State before being named head coach at Prairie View A&M. He’s 66-24 overall as an FCS head coach between Florida A&M and Prairie View.
