TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Indiana State head coach Curt Mallory announced additions to the Sycamore football coaching staff, as well as new positional titles heading into the spring season.
 
Mallory welcomes back ISU Hall of Famer Michael Simmonds as the Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach, as well as Joseph Seymour as the Special Teams Coordinator. Wide Receivers Coach Collin Coffer adds the title of Pass Game Coordinator to his duties.
 
"We're glad to bring back a legend in Mike Simmonds to the ISU coaching staff," Mallory said. "He's an experienced veteran and he and his wife Jamie are a welcome addition to the Sycamore family as they return here to Terre Haute. We're looking forward to adding him to the culture of the program."
 
No stranger to Indiana State athletics, Simmonds returns to the Sycamores as the offensive line coach in the spring of 2024 continuing a 30-plus year coaching career heading into his 19th season at the collegiate level.
 
Simmonds previously coached the Sycamores back in the 2010 season when he helping the Sycamores post a 6-5 record for the program's first winning season since 1996. The Sycamores ranked 14th in the nation in scoring at 31.9 points per game in 2010 as he guided an offensive line from the lowest scoring team to the highest scoring team in school history (351 points), as well as a school record number of touchdowns (48) in 2010.
 
Simmonds has coaching stops at South Florida (2006-09), ISU (2010), North Texas (2011-15), Eastern Illinois (2016), Northern Iowa (2017), and most recently Texas El Paso (2018-2023).
 
Simmonds is coming off one of the best coaching years of his career being named the Conference USA Offensive Line Coach of the Year after guiding UTEP through nine different starting lineup combinations this past season. He coached the 2023 Conference USA Offensive Tackle of the Year, Zuri Henry, and Center of the Year, Andrew Meyer, highlighting an experienced unit that featured five returning starters with 120 combined starts.
 
Over his tenure at UTEP, the Miners featured 13 offensive linemen placed on C-USA All-Conference teams and blocked for three different 1000-yard-wide receivers. From 2021-23, the offensive line blocked for an average of over 2000 yards rushing per year & over 4000 yards total offense per year. UTEP also ranked 21st nationally for fewest sacks per game in 2021 (1.46).
 
Prior to UTEP, Simmonds coached at Northern Iowa where he was the offensive line coach/co-offensive coordinator. Northern Iowa led the nation (FCS) in red zone offense, converting on 92 percent of its opportunities (51 att., 31 TD, 16 FG). UNI averaged 29.4 points per game in 2017, while averaging 354.7 yards of total offense in 13 games (8-5 overall record).
 
In 2016, Simmonds directed the offensive line at Eastern Illinois. Tackle Evan Kanz earned second-team All-Ohio Valley Conference honors, helping a group that carved holes for the OVC's leading rusher, Devin Church, to run through. The offensive line finished the 2016 season ranked 36th in the FCS in fewest sacks allowed.
 
Simmonds coached at North Texas from 2011-15, as the Mean Green transitioned from the Sun Belt Conference to Conference USA. Employing a physical style of play at the offensive line position, Simmonds' group paved the way to three 2,000-yard rushing seasons in five years with the team falling just short of that mark in 2015, averaging 158.7 yards per game on the ground.
 
During his stint at North Texas, Simmonds coached eight players to All-Conference honors with his group blocking for the school's all-time leading rusher Lance Dunbar. In 2011, the offensive line led the way for Dunbar's school record-setting performance of 313 yards against Middle Tennessee.
 
Prior to joining the staff at North Texas, Simmonds coached one season at Indiana State, helping the Sycamores post a 6-5 record for the program's first winning season since 1996. Prior to the six wins, ISU had won two games in the previous five seasons.
  
Simmonds was on the staff at South Florida from 2006-09.  In his first season he worked as a graduate assistant coach before taking over offensive line duties in 2007. During his time with the USF program, the Bulls led the Big East Conference in total offense in 2008, averaging 405.0 yards per game. The team was third in the conference in rushing offense at 165.4 yards per game. 
 
During his three seasons as a full-time coach USF was nationally ranked during each season, climbing as high as No. 2 in the national polls during the 2007 campaign. All four years on the staff USF played in a bowl game, with appearances in the PapaJohns.com Bowl, Sun Bowl, St. Petersburg Bowl, and International Bowl. USF was 3-1 in bowl games with Simmonds on the staff with 34 overall wins.
 
A graduate of Indiana State, Simmonds started 46 games in his career, earning I-AA All-American honors. He was a member of the Sycamores' 1983 and 1984 FCS playoff teams. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 10th round of the 1987 NFL Draft. Simmonds played four seasons in the NFL with Tampa Bay and San Diego. He started at offensive guard for Tampa Bay in 1989, part of an offense that earned NFC Players of the Week in a game against Chicago.
  
Following his professional career, Simmonds was a successful high school coach in the Tampa area before joining the USF staff. He coached six years as an assistant at Hillsborough HS, helping the team win 54 games. From 1998-2005 he was the head coach at Jefferson HS in Tampa, posting a 75-29 overall record. He coached in FHSAA State Championship Games three times in 1996, 2002 and 2004.
 
Simmonds was inducted into the Indiana State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.  He was named to both the Gateway Conference 20th Anniversary Team and the Gateway Conference All-Decade Team (1980's).
 
He and his wife, Jamie, have three daughters – Amanda, Lauren and Emily.
 
Seymour joined the staff by way of North Dakota following a six-year tenure with the Fighting Hawks working with both the special teams and offensive staff both as an intern and in a graduate assistant role.
 
He helped oversee the UND punt return units that ranked in the Top-10 in blocked punts, including two returned for touchdowns in the 2022 season. This past year, Seymore helped UND be named the top Kickoff Return Unit in the FCS averaging 27.0 yards per return highlighted by First Team All-Conference selection Luke Skokna.
 
The Sycamores will announce their spring practice schedule in the coming days as they prepare for the upcoming practice slate ahead of their annual Blue-White Game.

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