Jonathan Suarez | Sports Director
FIU Football announced the hiring of Coach Willie Simmons on Saturday, December 7th, and the community is buzzing with excitement over the promise of the hire.
The introductory press event for Coach Simmons was held in the Graham Center Pit at 2 p.m. As Athletic Director Carr addressed the crowd of onlookers, he highlighted Coach Simmons’s winning record in every year he has been a head coach and his commitment to academic success for student-athletes.
During the event, Coach Simmons announced, “Our first goal is to win a national championship.” Additionally, he emphasized the team’s intention to protect home field, remain undefeated at Pitbull Stadium, and maintain a high level of academic success for student-athletes.
Simmons stated, “We want to graduate our student-athletes in no more than four and a half years,” and reiterated a commitment to a team GPA of 3.0 or above.
With current players watching on, Simmons issued a call to action to players interested or currently in the transfer portal: “We got to be a team that’s willing to do hard things.”
The new coaching staff will face challenges as they work to retain key players like wide receiver Eric Rivers and recruit new talent from the portal. They will also need to scramble to assemble a recruiting class after the early signing period.
Regarding recruiting, Simmons said, “We are blessed to be in the fastest region in the world for high school football talent. And one thing we can do is find speed in South Florida.” He told the crowd, “We will be the fastest football team on the field every Saturday.”
Coach Simmons has generated significant hype and praise from those in the coaching world.
While this team has some adversity ahead of it, Coach Simmons has undoubtedly brought new energy to a struggling Panthers team.
About Post Author
