Paul Simmons is an American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

coach. He is the head football coach for

Harding University Harding University is a private university with its main campus in Searcy, Arkansas. It is the largest private university in Arkansas. Established in 1924, the institution offers undergraduate, graduate, and pre-professional programs. The uni ...

Searcy, Arkansas Searcy ( ) is the largest city and county seat of White County, Arkansas, United States. According to 2019 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 23,767. It is the principal city of the Searcy, AR Micropolitan Statistical Area ...

; a position he has held since 2017. He has won

Great American Conference The Great American Conference (GAC) is a List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division II, Division II level, with headquarters located in Russellvill ...

championships in 2021, 2023, reached the semifinals of the

NCAA Division II Football Championship The NCAA Division II Football Championship is an American college football tournament played annually to determine a champion at the NCAA Division II level. It was first held in 1973, as a single-elimination tournament with eight teams. The tourna ...

playoffs in 2017, and won the NCAA Division II national championship in 2023. As a player for Harding, Simmons was a three-time first-team All-American

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, p ...

and

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. He was inducted into the Harding Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999. Simmons played high school football for the

Ashdown High School Ashdown High School is a comprehensive public high school located in the town of Ashdown, Arkansas, United States. The school provides secondary education for students in grades 9 through 12. It is one of two public high schools in Little River ...

Panthers in

Ashdown, Arkansas Ashdown (formerly Turkey Flats and Keller) is a city in Little River County, Arkansas, United States. The community was incorporated in 1892 and has been the county seat since 1906. Located within the Arkansas Timberlands between the Little Riv ...

from 1988 to 1990. Simmons joined Harding as an assistant coach in 2006, and became the Defensive Coordinator in 2010. Before coming to Harding, Simmons was a high school head coach in Memphis. In 2023, Simmons coached his Harding Bisons to a NCAA Division II national championship, finishing undefeated at 15–0. That team became the first to ever rush for over 6,000 yards in a single season in NCAA history. Simmons son, Wyatt, a linebacker at Harding Academy High School in Searcy, has committed to play college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks over offers from schools such as Auburn, Clemson, and Florida State. https://www.kait8.com/video/2023/12/12/harding-hc-paul-simmons-son-wyatt-reflect-special-saturday-searcy/

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

Harding coach profile

Harding player profile
Date of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American football defensive ends American football linebackers Harding Bisons football coaches Harding Bisons football players High school football coaches in Tennessee People from Little River County, Arkansas Coaches of American football from Arkansas Players of American football from Arkansas {{2010s-collegefootball-coach-stub