Darrin Simmons enters his 26th NFL season in 2023, and his 21st with the Bengals. The longest-tenured coach on staff, he has spent his entire Bengals term leading the special teams units. He has held the title of special teams coordinator for the last 11 years, and the title of assistant head coach for the last four.
Over his Bengals career, Simmons' work with the special teams units has helped re-write the team's record book. In 2021, he guided K Evan McPherson to one of the top kicking seasons by a rookie in NFL history. McPherson converted 28 of 33 FG attempts, which included five game-winning FGs as time expired (two in postseason), nine FGs of 50 or more yards (most in an entire Bengals career, let alone a season) and a team-record 58-yard FG. He was instrumental in Cincinnati's postseason run to Super Bowl LVI, going 20-for-20 on placekicks over four playoff games (14 FGs, six PATs). No kicker in league history had previously been perfect on more than 11 FGs in a single postseason, and McPherson's 14 FGs tied for the fourth-most in a single NFL playoff run.
Simmons has guided P Kevin Huber to the team's top spot in every career punting category, including attempts (980), yards (44,426), gross average (45.33), net average (40.27) and inside-20s (337). Under Simmons, Huber has notched the top five seasons in team history for gross average, net average and inside-20s. Huber enjoyed one of his top statistical seasons in 2020, posting career highs in both gross (47.2) and net (42.8) average. Snapping to Huber for a majority of his career has been another Simmons protégé, LS Clark Harris, who entering 2022 has 1876 career snaps without an unplayable delivery.
Simmons' special teams units have also excelled in the return game. He's coached three of the Bengals' top four leaders in career punt return average and four of the team's top six leaders in career kickoff return average. Under Simmons' tutelage, S Brandon Wilson has 37 KORs of 20-plus yards over the past three seasons, and in 2019, he led the NFL with a 31.3-yard KOR average.
Simmons' coverage units have also been consistently among the NFL's best. In 2019, the Bengals finished third in average starting field position (26.4) and fourth in opponents' average starting field position (23.9). In 2018, Cincinnati ranked seventh in punt return coverage (10.7), fifth in kickoff return average (24.9) and ninth in punt coverage (7.3 yards/return).
In 2017, Simmons helped Harris to his first-career Pro Bowl, after recording 143 snaps without an unplayable delivery. That followed a 2016 campaign in which Simmons guided Alex Erickson's unexpected rise from college free agent to the AFC kickoff return title (27.9 average).
In 2015, HB Cedric Peerman made the Pro Bowl as a kick coverage and return-unit performer, and his 17 tackles tied for the highest team total since '08.
Simmons helped guide Huber to the Pro Bowl in 2014 after he posted then-franchise records for gross average (46.8) and net average (42.1). Also in '14, Simmons helped CB Adam Jones lead the NFL in kickoff return average with a team-record mark of 31.26, and to place second in punt return average (12.0).
Simmons entered the NFL in 1998 with the Baltimore Ravens, where he served as assistant special teams coach and assistant strength and conditioning coach. He then joined the Carolina Panthers, where he served in the same role from 1999-2002, before joining the Bengals in '03.
Simmons began his coaching career at the University of Kansas in 1996. He had punted for Kansas from 1993-95, earning All-Big Eight honors in '95 and helping the team earn a top-10 national ranking. He also was an Academic All-American in '95, and earned a sports management degree from Kansas in 1996.
Prior to playing for Kansas, Simmons was a punter and QB for Dodge City (Kan.) Community College, where in 1992 he led the nation's junior colleges in punting and was a first-team JUCO All-American.
Born April 9, 1973, in Elkhart, Kan., he graduated from Elkhart High School. He and his wife, Rhonda, have a daughter and two sons.
