Darrin Simmons

Who is Darrin Simmons?

Darrin Simmons is a coach in American football.

Currently he is in his eleventh season as the Cincinnati Bengals special teams coach. Under his tutelage, in the 2005 season, the Cincinnati Bengals got record-breaking performances from their kicking specialists and kickoff returner, plus Top-10 work from the kickoff return and kickoff coverage teams.

Simmons’s biggest individual success story has been placekicker Shayne Graham. Simmons faced a challenge in 2003, when Graham joined the Bengals on waivers just a week before the regular-season opener and was moved into the No. 1 job. But Simmons has helped guide Graham to three of the finest kicking seasons in Bengals history. In 2005, Graham became the first Bengals kicker to make the Pro Bowl. He broke his own team record with 131 points; broke a record by making 14 straight field goals; and he qualified as the most accurate FG kicker in club history.

Second-year punter Kyle Larson, originally a Bengals college free agent signee under Simmons, averaged 43.2 yards per kick in 2005. It was the club’s best average since 1998, and the punt team’s 35.6-yard net average was also the Bengals’ best since 1998. Larson set a team record with a 75-yard punt at Jacksonville, breaking the previous mark of 73 by Brad Costello.