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Florida International announces hiring of Willie Simmons as football coach

Syndication: The Augusta Chronicle

Dec. 16, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Florida A&M Head Coach Willie Simmons holds up the national championship trophy after the Cricket Celebration Bowl game between Florida A&M University and Howard University at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. FAMU defeated Howard 30-26. Mandatory Credit: Katie Goodale-USA TODAY Network

Katie Goodale, Katie Goodale/Katie Goodale, Katie Goodale / USA TODAY NETWORK

MIAMI — Florida International has hired Willie Simmons as its football coach.

The public university did not immediately release terms of its agreement with Simmons, who spent this season as the running backs coach at Duke.

Simmons went 45-13 as the head coach at Florida A&M between 2018 and 2023, leading the Rattlers to a pair of HBCU national championships. A former Clemson quarterback, Simmons also has coached collegiately at Prairie View A&M, Alcorn State, Middle Tennessee State and his alma mater.

At FIU, Simmons is replacing Mike MacIntyre. He was fired earlier this month after three seasons, all of them seeing the Panthers finish with 4-8 records.

FIU has finished with a losing record in 17 of its 21 football seasons. The only coaches to have a winning season at FIU are Mario Cristobal and Butch Davis. Both did it twice.