Paul Simmons is an American college football coach. He is the head football coach for Harding University, a position he has held since 2017. He has won Great American Conference championships in 2021, 2023, reached the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs in 2017, and won the NCAA Division II national championship in 2023.[1]
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Titel | Head coach |
| Team | Harding |
| Conference | GAC |
| Record | 66–13 |
| Playing career | |
| 1991–1994 | Harding |
| Position(s) | Linebacker, defensive end |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1996 | Harding Academy (TN) (DC) |
| 1997 | Harding (GA) |
| 1998–2005 | Harding Academy (TN) |
| 2006–2009 | Harding (DL) |
| 2010–2016 | Harding (DC/DL) |
| 2017–present | Harding |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 66–13 (college) 51–38–1 (high school) |
| Tournaments | 8–4 (NCAA D-II playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1 NCAA Division II (2023) 2 GAC (2021, 2023) | |
As a player for Harding, Simmons was a three-time first-team All-American linebacker and defensive end. He was inducted into the Harding Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999. Simmons played high school football for the Ashdown High School Panthers in Ashdown, Arkansas 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.[2]
Simmons' son Wyatt, a 3-star linebacker in the 2024 class at Harding Academy in Searcy, plays college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks. He chose Arkansas over offers from schools such as Auburn, Clemson, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Tennessee, USC, and Florida State.[3]
Head coaching record
editCollege
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | AFCA# | D2° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harding Bisons (Great American Conference) (2017–present) | |||||||||
| 2017 | Harding | 11–4 | 8–3 | T–2nd | L NCAA Division II Semifinal | 6 | |||
| 2018 | Harding | 9–3 | 9–2 | 2nd | L NCAA Division II First Round | 20 | |||
| 2019 | Harding | 10–2 | 10–1 | 2nd | L NCAA Division II First Round | 15 | |||
| 2020–21 | No team—COVID-19 | ||||||||
| 2021 | Harding | 11–2 | 10–1 | 1st | L NCAA Division II Second Round | 10 | |||
| 2022 | Harding | 9–2 | 9–2 | 2nd | 22 | ||||
| 2023 | Harding | 15–0 | 11–0 | 1st | W NCAA Division II Championship | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2024 | Harding | 1–0 | 1–0 | ||||||
| Harding: | 66–13 | 58–9 | |||||||
| Total: | 66–13 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
High school
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harding Academy Lions () (1998–2005) | |||||||||
| 1998 | Harding Academy | 5–6 | 3–2 | ||||||
| 1999 | Harding Academy | 6–4 | 3–4 | ||||||
| 2000 | Harding Academy | 9–3 | 5–2 | ||||||
| 2001 | Harding Academy | 8–4 | 2–1 | ||||||
| 2002 | Harding Academy | 7–4–1 | 1–2 | ||||||
| 2003 | Harding Academy | 5–6 | 1–2 | ||||||
| 2004 | Harding Academy | 5–6 | 1–2 | 6th | |||||
| 2005 | Harding Academy | 6–5 | 3–3 | 4th | |||||
| Harding Academy: | 51–38–1 | 19–18 | |||||||
| Total: | 51–38–1 | ||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Paul Simmons - Football Coach". Harding University Athletics.
- ^ Mobley, Andrew (December 16, 2023). "Harding University wins Division II National Championship, beats Colorado School of Mines 38–7". ABC 7. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
- ^ "Harding HC Paul Simmons, son Wyatt reflect on special Saturday in Searcy". K8 News. December 11, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
External links
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