Earlier this month, on June 9th, trailblazing football coach Bob Simmons passed away at the age of 77. Unfortunately, the sad news didn’t receive the attention his life deserved.
We wanted to make sure that didn’t continue.
When Simmons took over the head coaching job at Oklahoma State on December 16th, 1994, after almost 20 years as a positions coach at various schools, he made history during a significant time in college football history.
First, he became the first Black head football coach in school history.
Second, as the head coach of the Cowboys, who were part of the Big Eight at the time, he became the first Black head football coach in conference history.
Third, the following year the conference became the Big 12, which made him the first Black head coach in Big 12 Conference history.
That’s three history making moments in two years.
The Big Eight consisted of the University of Colorado, Iowa State University, the University of Kansas, Kansas State University, the University of Missouri, the University of Nebraska, the University of Oklahoma and OSU. In 1996, it added Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech and the Big 12 was born.
And Bob Simmons was the lone Black face leading a team during this time.
Simmons inherited a program that hadn’t had a winning season since 1988 when Barry Sanders ran over everybody in college football (2,628 yards, 37 TDs), and that was coming off of a 3-7-1 season with a 0-6-1 conference record.
In his first season, the Cowboys went 4-8 and had 2 conference wins; most importantly, they finally beat in-state rival Oklahoma, so Simmons and his program took a huge step forward.
And with talent like R.W. McQuarters on the field, Simmons began to build the program back up.
“Coach Simmons was a fair and fatherly coach,” said Cowboy All-American R.W. McQuarters about Simmons’ passing. “He took over an OSU program that had struggled in previous years, but in his first year his recruiting class was amazing. We had no problem beating OU during his career. He will be missed and always loved, as will his family.”
The next year, which was the Big 12’s inaugural season, OSU went 5-6. Then in 1997, Simmons led the program to an 8-4 record, its first winning season in 9 years, and an appearance in the Alamo Bowl. That year he won Big 12 Coach of the Year and the Cowboys beat both Texas and Oklahoma.
During his time at OSU, Simmons amassed a record of 30-38. But he held a 3-3 record against Oklahoma, including back-to-back wins over their rivals in 1997 and 1998.
Simmons was also a great identifier of talent.
He hired future head coaches Les Miles and Mike Gundy and recruited future All-Americans Alonzo Mayes, Sam Mayes, McQuarters, Kevin Williams and Rashaun Woods, all of whom are considered among the greatest names in program history.
While Simmons might not be mentioned in conversations regarding the greatest coaches in college football history, he should be included in conversations about the most historically important coaches in the sport.
“Coach Simmons created a pathway of greatness for Oklahoma State and the student-athletes who came through the program during his era,” said former Cowboy linebacker and staff member Kenyatta Wright. “The culture he established set a standard of excellence that will impact generations of Cowboys.”
RIP Coach Bob Simmons.
