Florida Worldwide soccer has a brand new head coach. Willie Simmons is the brand new head coach for the Panthers, per 247 Sports activities. Simmons involves Florida Worldwide from Duke, the place he served as working backs coach.
Simmons was beforehand the pinnacle coach at Florida A&M. The coach posted a 39-8 document his last 4 seasons at that faculty.
Florida Worldwide fired coach Mike MacIntyre on December 1. MacIntyre left the varsity with a 12-24 document, after three consecutive 4-8 seasons.
“This was a call based mostly solely off on-field outcomes, and at the moment I felt our program wanted to go in a special route,” Florida Worldwide athletic director Scott Carr stated about that call, per the varsity. “Whereas we have now been extra aggressive on the sphere every of the final three seasons, sadly our win-loss document just isn’t indicative of these statistical enhancements. Profitable championships and bowl video games is our purpose. With that customary in place, a complete nationwide seek for a brand new head coach will start instantly, and I’ll haven’t any additional remark till that course of is accomplished.”
Florida Worldwide soccer will now depend on Simmons to guide the staff to a Convention USA championship.
Florida Worldwide soccer hasn’t had success lately
Florida Worldwide is among the hardest jobs in faculty soccer. The college has gained simply 34 p.c of its complete video games as a program. Its lone convention championship got here in 2010, when the varsity gained the Solar Belt.
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This system has really had some nice coaches, regardless of its struggles. Florida Worldwide soccer’s roster of coaches in program historical past embrace Mario Cristobal and Butch Davis. The Panthers have been to 5 complete bowl video games, and gained two of them. The entire bowl video games got here with both Cristobal or Davis main the squad.
Simmons will now be tasked with discovering success. He did a stable job at Duke, the place he labored for one season with the Blue Devils. Duke completed the 2024 marketing campaign with a 9-3 document, and can play in a bowl sport. Simmons additionally served as the pinnacle coach at Prairie View A&M.
Javan Dewitt had been serving as interim coach after Florida Worldwide soccer parted methods with MacIntyre.