Ernie Sims
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Ernie Sims III (born December 23, 1984) is an American
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 ...
coach and former professional player who was a
linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
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 is an assistant coach for
Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...
, a position he has held since 2024. He 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 ...
for the
Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...
and was selected by the
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
in the first round of the
2006 NFL draft The 2006 NFL draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offe ...
. He also played for 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 ...
,
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...
and
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
.


Early life

A native of
Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...
, Sims attended
North Florida Christian High School North Florida Christian School (NFCS) is a private Christian school in Tallahassee, Florida, originally founded as a segregation academy. The school is administered by North Florida Baptist Church, formerly known as Temple Baptist Church. Histor ...
, where he began his
high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...
career by earning a varsity letter while only in the eighth grade. A two-way player at
running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...
and
linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
, Sims earned a total of five varsity letters. Playing in Class A, Florida's smallest classification, Sims led the Eagles to four state championships from 1998 to 2001. In his senior year, however, North Florida was eliminated in the region semifinals of the Class A playoffs, losing to
Jay Jays are a paraphyletic grouping of passerine birds within the family Corvidae. Although the term "jay" carries no taxonomic weight, most or all of the birds referred to as jays share a few similarities: they are small to medium-sized, usually ...
19–14. As a junior, he totaled 180 tackles, 41 tackles for loss, 12 sacks and forced seven fumbles on defense and rushed for over 600 yards and 17 touchdowns as a tailback. During his senior year, Sims registered 133 tackles (73 solo stops), 15 tackles for lost yardage, six forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries and one blocked field goal attempt from his linebacker position and ran for 1,081 yards on 115 carries for 23 touchdowns as a running back. Sims earned All-American honors by ''
Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...
'' and ''
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''. '' Rivals.com'' ranked Sims as not only the top linebacker in his class but as the top prospect in the country. , Sims remained the only linebacker ranked atop of the ''Rivals'' annual rankings. Recruited by several schools within the nation, Sims took official visits to
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
,
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
, Auburn, Miami (FL), and
Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...
. On
National Signing Day National Signing Day has traditionally been the first day that a high school senior can sign a binding National Letter of Intent for a collegiate sport with a school that is a Division II member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ...
, Sims chose the Seminoles over the Gators.


College career

At Florida State, Sims wore #34, a number that was retired in honor of former Seminole football player,
Ron Sellers Ronald Franklin "Jingle Joints" Sellers (born February 5, 1947) is a native of Jacksonville, Florida who was an All-American wide receiver at Florida State University (1966-1968) and a former professional player in the American Football League ...
. Sellers gave Sims and the university permission for Sims to wear the jersey number. In 2003, as a
true freshman The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...
at Florida State, Sims played in all 13 games of the season, including the
Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. Played annually since 1935 Orange Bowl, January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in ...
against Miami (FL), as a back-up outside linebacker. He finished ninth on the team with 42 tackles, and added two tackles for lost yardage, two pass break-ups, three quarterback hurries and a forced fumble. Sims was also one of the Seminoles' top special teams performers. He earned ACC Rookie of the Week for his efforts against Wake Forest, which included a season-high 10 tackles. As a sophomore, Sims played in all 12 games, and made the starting lineup by the second week. For his exceptional play on the field in 2004, Sims was named to the second All-ACC team and
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named Sims to their first-team All-American team. He finished second on the team with a single-season career-high 86 tackles, behind only A. J. Nicholson (88). Sims also recorded a single-season career-high nine tackles for lost yardage, 4.5 quarterback sacks, nine quarterback hurries, five pass break-ups, two forced fumbles and a blocked kick. In three games (
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
,
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, and
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
), Sims recorded double-digit tackles, including a career-high 12 tackles against the Gators. In the Seminoles' 36–3 victory over
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
, he had nine tackles, a career-high two sacks and a blocked punt. Sims followed that performance with eight tackles, one tackle for lost yardage, a sack and a pass break-up against Wake Forest. Each of those weeks, Sims earned ACC Defensive Back of the Week, as the only player in the ACC to earn the ACC Defensive Back of the Week honors multiple times during the season. In July 2005, Sims was arrested on charges of battery and resisting an officer, allegedly shoving his then-girlfriend "repeatedly to the ground" during an argument in the parking lot of a FSU residence hall. Expectations for his junior year were high, as ''
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'' and other publications named him to their pre-season All-American teams. Sims had a productive, but not spectacular junior season, starting all 13 games, including the
Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. Played annually since 1935 Orange Bowl, January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in ...
. Sims majored in
Environmental Studies Environmental studies (EVS or EVST) is a multidisciplinary academic field which systematically studies human behavior, human interaction with the Natural environment, environment. Environmental studies connects principles from the physical sci ...
at Florida State. In January 2006, Sims announced that he would forgo his senior season to focus on a career in the NFL.


Professional career


Detroit Lions

Described as a "three-down linebacker who plays bigger than his listed size", Sims was selected as ninth overall in the first round of the
2006 NFL draft The 2006 NFL draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offe ...
by the
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
. Sims was targeted by Lions
general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
Matt Millen Matthew George Millen (born March 12, 1958) is an American former professional football player and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Millen played as a linebacker for 12 years for the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders, San Franci ...
to bolster the Lions' defense at weakside linebacker. He was the highest selected Seminoles defender since
Corey Simon Corey Jermaine Simon Sr. (born March 2, 1977) is an American politician and former professional football player. A member of the Republican Party, he has served as the Florida State Senator from the 3rd district since 2022. He played as a def ...
in
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
. On July 30, 2006, he signed a 5-year, $15.735 million contract with $12.1 million guaranteed. Sims started all 16 games his rookie season at outside linebacker, collecting 124 tackles (81 solo tackles) and was credited with a half sack and one pass deflection. On December 3, against the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
, Sims had a career-high 13 total tackles. On December 31, Sims made a key tackle on fourth down to give the Lions a big win against the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
. On September 3, 2007, Sims was named one of five captains for the 2007 Detroit Lions. The Lions former head coach,
Rod Marinelli Rodney Henry Marinelli (born July 13, 1949) is a former American football coach. For 48 consecutive years, he had been a defensive coach for several college and professional teams, serving primarily as a defensive line coach when not assigned as ...
, said that Sims' resembled that of
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...
linebacker
Derrick Brooks Derrick Dewan Brooks (born April 18, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for his entire 14-year career in the National Football League (NFL) with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brooks played college footbal ...
in his early years, being described as a fast, punishing, sure-tackler.


Philadelphia Eagles

Sims was traded to 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 ...
on April 19, 2010, in a three-team trade. The
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
sent tight end Tony Scheffler and a seventh-round draft pick in 2010 to the
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
, the Lions sent Sims to the Eagles, and the Eagles sent a fifth-round draft pick in 2010 to the Broncos.


Indianapolis Colts

On August 2, 2011, Sims signed with the
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...
as an
unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
. He wasn't re-signed at the end of the year.


Dallas Cowboys

After the loss of
Sean Lee Sean Patrick Lee (born July 22, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions, and was selected by the Cowboys ...
to injury, on October 24, 2012, the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
signed him as an unrestricted free agent to provide depth at
linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
. Sims quickly became a starter by his second game (against the
Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...
) and eventually the unit's defensive play caller, after injuries decimated the position further. He finished the season with 42 tackles, one sack, 2 quarterback pressures and 3 passes defensed. He also recorded 10 tackles in the Cowboys' emotional week 14 win against the
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 ...
, a day after the team received news of the death of
Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...
and the arrest of
Josh Brent Joshua Aaron Price-Brent (born January 30, 1988) is an American former professional football defensive tackle who played in National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini and wa ...
. On March 18, 2013, Sims was signed to a one-year contract at the league minimum salary. He registered 42 tackles, a forced fumble and started 6 games while replacing Bruce Carter,
Justin Durant Justin Ryan Durant (born September 21, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Hampton Pirates and was selected by the Jacksonville ...
and
Sean Lee Sean Patrick Lee (born July 22, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions, and was selected by the Cowboys ...
at different times. He wasn't re-signed at the end of the season.


Arizona Cardinals

On June 3, 2014, Sims signed 1-year deal to replace the suspended Daryl Washington. He was released on August 7.


NFL statistics

Key * GP: games played * COMB: combined tackles * TOTAL: total tackles * AST: assisted tackles * SACK: sacks * FF: forced fumbles * FR: fumble recoveries * FR YDS: fumble return yards * INT: interceptions * IR YDS: interception return yards * AVG IR: average interception return * LNG: longest interception return * TD: interceptions returned for touchdown * PD: passes defensed


Personal life

On May 29, 2009, Sims married Brooke McGriff, who is pursuing a degree in education at
Tallahassee Community College Tallahassee State College (TSC) is a public college in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is part of the Florida College System and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools has accredited the school. Peak enrollment was fall 201 ...
. Sims' mother, Alice Sims, formerly Alice Bennett, was an
All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
n sprinter on the Florida State
track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
team from 1980 through 1983. His younger brother, Marcus Sims, a highly regarded high school running back, announced in February 2006 that he will also play his college football at Florida State before transferring to the
University of North Alabama The University of North Alabama (UNA) is a public university in Florence, Alabama, United States. It is the state's oldest university. Occupying a campus in a residential section of Florence, UNA is located within a four-city area that also ...
. His father Ernie Sr. was also a running back at Florida State. Sims owns a small collection of animals: 5 dogs and 1 type of reptile.Philadelphia Eagles Ernie Sims full bio
/ref>
Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
produced a segment for the Lions' game against the
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...
in Detroit in 2007 which showcased his pets. Sims currently resides in his home town of Tallahassee, FL, where he owns his own athletic training facility, called Ernie Sims' Big Hits Performance. He also has his own local sports talk radio show.


References


External links


Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sims, Ernie 1984 births Living people Players of American football from Tallahassee, Florida American football outside linebackers Florida State Seminoles football players Detroit Lions players Philadelphia Eagles players Indianapolis Colts players Dallas Cowboys players Coaches of American football from Florida Florida Atlantic Owls football coaches South Florida Bulls football coaches UCF Knights football coaches