Shawn Simms - Outside Linebacker Coach - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Shawn Simms

Title:
Outside Linebacker Coach
Email:
Phone:
(515) 294-7999

Simms joins the ISU staff as outside linebackers coach after coaching running backs for three seasons at Colorado. His experience includes stops at Illinois, Ohio State and Pittsburgh. At Colorado, he tutored Bobby Purify in 2004, the 12th player in school history to run for 1,000 yards in a single season. Simms, 43, joined the CU staff after coaching the running backs for two seasons at the University of Pittsburgh.

Simms earned his bachelor’s degree in business education from Bowling Green in 1986, where he lettered as a linebacker and was an all-Mid America Conference performer as a senior in 1984. His first taste of coaching came in 1985 with Heidelberg in nearby Tiffin, Ohio, as he coached the linebackers one year and the secondary in another while finishing up his degree at Bowling Green. He then moved on to San Diego State, where he spent one season (1987) as a defensive grad assistant; while at SDSU, he studied in its master’s program in educational administration.

His first full-time position was as running backs coach with Oberlin, where he worked one year (1988), before accepting his first full-time Division I-A job with Miami, Ohio.

After two seasons as outside linebackers coach with Miami (1989-90), he moved on to Toledo, where he again coached the running backs for four seasons (1991-94). Simms then spent the 1995 and 1996 seasons as running backs coach at Illinois, where he tutored Robert Holcombe, who set single game, season and career rushing records for the Fighting Illini. Holcombe went on to earn a Super Bowl ring with the 1999 St. Louis Rams.

Simms moved on to Ohio State for the 1997 through 1999 seasons, switching sides of the ball to coach defensive ends, including standout performers James Cotton and Rodney Bailey, future NFL draft picks. He also recruited four players who saw extensive action for the Buckeyes on their 2002 national championship team, including starting defensive end Will Smith.

Prior to joining the Pittsburgh staff in 2001, he coached the running backs at Rutgers for the 2000 season. At Pitt, he coached junior Brandon Miree, who gained 943 yards in 2002 to help lead Pittsburgh to a 9-4 record and near upset of No. 1 Miami.

He was born February 15, 1963 in Fremont, Ohio, and graduated from Fremont’s Ross High School, where he lettered in football, basketball, baseball and track. His half brother, Charles Woodson, won the Heisman Trophy in 1997 as a collegian at Michigan and is currently with the Oakland Raiders. He is married to the former Victoria Trail and the couple has two boys, Tre’ (9) and Trent (4).