In his 21st season with the team, Darrin Simmons is the longest-tenured coach on the Bengals' staff. He has led the special teams for his entire Bengals career. He has held the title of special teams coordinator since 2013, and the title of assistant head coach since '20.
Simmons' work with the special teams has re-written the Bengals' record book. He most notably coached P Kevin Huber, who holds team records for games played (216), total punts (1011), punting yards (45,766), gross average (45.27), net average (40.34) and inside-20 punts (346). Snapping to Huber for a majority of his time in Cincinnati was LS Clark Harris, who finished his own Bengals career in 2022 with zero unplayable long snaps in 1880 attempts.
In 2022, Simmons worked with a young special teams corps that featured rookie LS Cal Adomitis, first-year P Drue Chrisman and second-year K Evan McPherson. Adomitis took over long-snapping duties in Game 2, and had 146 attempts without an unplayable delivery. Chrisman assumed punting duties midway through the season and averaged 47.8 gross yards on 28 punts, with 13 downed inside the opponents' 20-yard line. McPherson continued his ascent as one of the league's top kickers, converting 24 of 29 FG attempts with a perfect five-for-five mark on attempts of 50-plus yards.
In 2021, Simmons guided McPherson to one of the top kicking seasons by a rookie in NFL history. McPherson went 28 of 33 on FG attempts, including nine from 50 or more yards — the most in an entire Bengals career, let alone a season. He was instrumental in the team's postseason run to Super Bowl LVI, going 20-for-20 on placekicks over four games (14 FGs, six PATs), with two game-winning FGs as time expired. No kicker in league history had previously been perfect on more than 11 FGs in a single postseason. Simmons in 2020 helped Huber enjoy one of his top statistical seasons, as the veteran posted career highs in both gross (47.2) and net (42.8) average.
Simmons' special teams units have also excelled in the return game. He has 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. In 2019, S Brandon Wilson led the NFL with a 31.3-yard KOR average.
The 2019 season also saw Cincinnati rank third in the NFL in average starting field position (26.4-yard line), and fourth in opponents' average starting field position (23.9). In 2018, the Bengals were fifth in kickoff return average (24.9 yards) and ninth in punt coverage (7.2 yards/return).
In 2017, Harris earned his first career Pro Bowl nod, after recording 143 snaps without an unplayable delivery. In 2016, Simmons guided Alex Erickson, a college free agent, to an AFC-leading 27.9 yards per kick return.
In 2015, Simmons helped HB Cedric Peerman make the Pro Bowl as a kick coverage and return-unit performer, as his 17 ST tackles tied for the highest by a Bengal 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.
Simmons entered the NFL in 1998 with the Baltimore Ravens, serving 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 as a graduate assistant at the University of Kansas in 1996. He had punted for Kansas from 1993-95, earning All-Big Eight honors in '95. He also was an Academic All-American in 1995, and earned a sports management degree from Kansas in '96.
Prior to Kansas, Simmons was a punter and QB at 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., Simmons graduated from Elkhart High School. He and his wife, Rhonda, have a daughter and two sons.
Playing and coaching history: 1991-92—Played quarterback and punter, Dodge City (Kan.) Community College. 1993-95—Played punter, University of Kansas. 1996—Graduate assistant coach, Kansas. 1997—Assistant coach (AC), University of Minnesota. 1998—AC, Baltimore Ravens. 1999-2002—AC, Carolina Panthers. 2003-12—AC, Cincinnati Bengals. 2013-19—Special teams coordinator, Bengals. 2020-present—Assistant head coach/special teams coordinator, Bengals.
