Clyde Simmons Jr. (born August 4, 1964) is an American

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach who currently is the defensive line coach for the Tennessee State Tigers. He played as a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was a twice first-team All-Pro and a twice

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

selection with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

. He was named to the Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame.

Playing career

College

Simmons played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at Western Carolina University helping lead the Catamounts to the 1983 NCAA Division I-AA National Championship game. In 1992 he was inducted into the Western Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame.

NFL

Simmons was selected in the ninth round of the 1986 NFL draft by the

where he spent 8 seasons (1986–1993). After leaving Philadelphia he went on to play for the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

(1994–1995),

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

(1996–1997),

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

(1998), and the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

(1999–2000). He led the NFL with 19 sacks in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

and finished his career 11th all time on the NFL sack list, with 121.5. (Currently ranked 22nd all time.)He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1991 and 1992. Simmons also returned an

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

for a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

against Jim Kelly and the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

in the 1996

NFL Playoffs The National Football League (NFL) playoffs is the annual single-elimination tournament held to determine the National Football League, league champion. The four-round tournament is held after the league's regular season. Since the 2020 NFL seaso ...

Post-playing career

Simmons began his coaching career in 2008 at Greater Atlanta Christian School as the defensive line coach. In 2010, he accepted an offer from Rex Ryan as a fellowship coach with the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. Simmons was an assistant defensive line coach for the St. Louis/

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

. The Rams had 217 total sacks during Simmons' tenure. With the Rams, Simmons coached three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle and the 2014 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Aaron Donald, and defensive end Robert Quinn, who set a single-season franchise record with 19 sacks in 2013. In January 2017, he was hired by the Cleveland Browns to coach their defensive line. In 2019 he was hired as a defensive line coach at Missouri Baptist university. In May 2021 he was hired by new Tennessee State head football coach

Eddie George Edward Nathan George Jr. (born September 24, 1973) is an American college American football, football coach and former running back who is the head football coach at Bowling Green Falcons football, Bowling Green State University. He previously ...

as the Tigers' defensive line coach.

References

External links

Tennessee State Tigers bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Clyde 1964 births Living people American football defensive ends Arizona Cardinals players Cleveland Browns coaches Chicago Bears players Cincinnati Bengals players Jacksonville Jaguars players New Hanover High School alumni Philadelphia Eagles players Tennessee State Tigers football coaches Western Carolina Catamounts football players National Conference Pro Bowl players People from Williamsburg County, South Carolina Players of American football from Wilmington, North Carolina Coaches of American football from North Carolina African-American coaches of American football 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen Brian Piccolo Award winners