Tennessee State University

Clyde Simmons joined the Tennessee State staff in May of 2021 as defensive line coach.
 
Simmons’ pedigree includes 15 years as a defensive lineman in the National Football League and over 10 years of coaching experience.
 
Simmons comes to TSU after spending the 2020 season at Western Carolina. During his time, the Catamounts ranked 16th in turnovers gained in FCS play.
 
Prior to WCU, Simmons spent one season as the defensive line coach at Missouri Baptist University after two years as an assistant coach with the Cleveland Browns. In Cleveland, Simmons helped groom the top draft pick of the 2017 NFL Draft, Myles Garrett.

Simmons began his coaching career in 2008 at Greater Atlanta Christian School as the defensive line coach. In 2010, he accepted a position as a defensive intern coach with the New York Jets. After two years, Simmons joined the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams as an assistant defensive line coach.
 
With the Rams, Simmons worked with Robert Quinn, who set a franchise single-season record with 19 sacks in 2013. He also coached 2014 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and Pro Bowl selection Aaron Donald, who broke Quinn’s mark in 2018 with 20.5 sacks. Donald’s total was a franchise record and the most by a defensive tackle in NFL history.

Simmons was a First Team All-America selection by both the Associated Press and the Kodak/AFCA while at Western Carolina. He played on the defensive line from 1982-85 and finished with 307 career tackles, 47 for loss and 23 sacks. Simmons still remains in the WCU record books and was a 2002 Western Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame inductee.
 
As a pro, Simmons played for five different NFL teams after being drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the ninth round of the 1986 NFL draft. Simmons played eight seasons with the Eagles before spending two years with the Arizona Cardinals. He closed out his career with two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, one year with the Cincinnati Bengals and two with the Chicago Bears.

Over his 15-year career, Simmons played in 236 games recording 121.5 sacks, forcing 25 fumbles and intercepting three passes. He also collected two pick-sixes and registered a safety. Simmons was a two-time Pro Bowl selection and was named first-team All-Pro in both 1991 and 1992, leading the NFL in sacks in the latter. He was also enshrined in the Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame in 2018.
 
Simmons graduated from WCU in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Distribution.