Brian Eugene Simmons (born June 21, 1975) is a former American college and professional football player who was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for ten seasons. He played college football for the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

, and earned All-American honors. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals 17th overall in the

1998 NFL Draft The 1998 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...

, and he played professionally for the Bengals and

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

of the NFL.

Early years

Simmons was born in New Bern, North Carolina. He attended

New Bern High School New Bern High School is a high school in New Bern, North Carolina, USA, whose students come from the New Bern, Trent Woods, Brices Creek and James City area. It is located in Craven County. The student population is approximately 1,700, and there ...

, where he was a letterman in

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

, basketball, baseball, and track for the New Bern Bears.

College career

Simmons attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and played for the

North Carolina Tar Heels football The North Carolina Tar Heels football team represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the sport of American football or Gridiron Football. The Tar Heels play in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate ...

team from 1994 to 1997. As a senior in 1997, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American after receiving first-team honors from ''Football News'', the Associated Press, and the Walter Camp Foundation.

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

He was drafted in the

by the Bengals, for whom he played nine seasons. Simmons missed all but one game of the

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

season because of injury. In 2001, the Bengals started the season 1–0. They faced the Super Bowl champion

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

in their second game. Right before the halftime, the Ravens were driving down field. They were on the goal line, and threw into the end zone. Brian Simmons picked off the pass, which led to Cincinnati's 21-10 win. In 2003, the 1-4 Bengals were down 0–7 against the Ravens. With the Ravens about to score again, Simmons sacked rookie quarterback

Kyle Boller Kyle Bryan Boller (born June 17, 1981) is a former American football quarterback. After playing college football for California, he was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round (19th overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played for the Ra ...

, which forced a fumble, and led to Jon Kitna's 45-yard touchdown pass on third down. The Bengals won 34–26. A week later, the Bengals were 2-4 and were protecting a 27-24 lead against the Seattle Seahawks in the last six minutes. Simmons deflected a

Matt Hasselbeck Matthew Michael Hasselbeck (born September 25, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Boston College and was drafted in the sixth ro ...

pass at the Cincinnati 34, then deflected another at the 24, which was intercepted by cornerback Jeff Burris to win the game. In 2004, for the home season opener, the Bengals were down against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

0–3 at halftime. Three minutes into the second half, Simmons intercepted an A. J. Feeley pass and took it 50 yards for the Bengals' only score of the game. It allowed

Carson Palmer Carson Hilton Palmer (born December 27, 1979) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals. He played college football at ...

to get rolling and drive downfield to set up

Shayne Graham Michael Shayne Graham (born December 9, 1977) is an American football coach and former placekicker. Graham played 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Virginia Tech. He made his professional debut in Ma ...

's game-winning field goal. On February 28, 2007, Simmons was released from the Bengals.

New Orleans Saints

On March 6, 2007, he signed with the Saints

On March 1, 2008 the Saints released Simmons after the acquisition of

Jonathan Vilma Jonathan Polynice Vilma (born April 16, 1982) is a former American football linebacker and current Fox NFL analyst. He played college football at the University of Miami, winning a National Championship in 2001. He went on to be drafted by the N ...

Post career

On June 1, 2009, Simmons was named the Northeast regional scout for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

. Simmons serves as the color analyst for the

Tar Heel Sports Network The Tar Heel Sports Network is a radio network in the United States dedicated to broadcasting live events and programming relating to North Carolina Tar Heels athletics. It is operated by Tar Heel Sports Properties, a property of Learfield I ...

football broadcasts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Brian 1975 births Living people All-American college football players American football linebackers Cincinnati Bengals players New Orleans Saints players North Carolina Tar Heels football players Sportspeople from New Bern, North Carolina