Grambling State University Athletics

John Simon enters his first season as the assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at Grambling State University. In addition, Simon also is the recruiting coordinator.

Simon comes to Grambling State from Memphis, where he served as the program’s recruiting coordinator, passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach. He joined the staff in January 2019. 
  
In his first campaign with the Tigers, Simon helped develop one of the most prolific passing attacks in program history. For only the second time in school history, Memphis rolled up more than 4,000 yards through the air. The UofM passing game ranked nationally in total yards (7th), yards/completion (9th), efficiency (10th), touchdowns (17th) and yards/game (17th). The passing game helped the Tigers rank in the top 10 in scoring offense (8th) and total offense (10th). 
  
The passing game’s success partly relied on Simon’s corps that had four Tigers with more than 600 receiving yards. Damonte Coxie, an All-American Athletic Conference second team pick, led the conference with 1,276 yards and was eighth nationally. Coxie’s 1,276 yards were the third-highest for a season in program history and also made him one of only two Tigers with multiple 1,000-yard receiving campaigns in school history (Anthony Miller).  
  
Simon’s receiving attack, though, didn’t stop with Coxie. Antonio Gibson, another All-AAC second team selection at wide receiver, piled up 735 yards, and Kedarian Jones added 609 yards. Kenneth Gainwell, The American’s Rookie of the Year, hauled in 610 receiving yards out of the backfield. 
  
In his role as recruiting coordinator, Simon has helped elevate those efforts to unprecedented levels in program history. The UofM’s 2020 signing class was the third-best outside the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC, according to 247sports.com. Simon and the rest of the staff have continued to ride that recruiting wave of momentum into head coach Ryan Silverfield’s first full campaign, as the 2021 class ranks in the top 35 entering the 2020 season. 
  
Prior to coming to the Bluff City, Simon spent the two seasons as the associate head coach and running backs coach at Arizona State. Simon, a former NFL back, also had stints in the college game at Louisiana-Lafayette and Southern Miss and in high school football in Dallas, Texas. 
 
Hailing from Baton Rouge, Simon played his college ball at Louisiana Tech from 1998-2001. He gained more than 4,000 all-purpose yards and caught a pass in a then-NCAA record 36 consecutive games. In his senior season (2001), he helped the Bulldogs to the program’s first Western Athletic Conference (WAC) championship and a bowl appearance in 11 seasons. Simon, who moved to wide receiver his senior campaign, received the 2001 Humanitarian Award at the Humanitarian Bowl and was the recipient of the Louisiana Tech President’s Award.  
 
After college, Simon spent three seasons in the NFL. He was a member of the Tennessee Titans roster in 2002 and spent the 2003-04 season with the Washington Redskins. Following his professional career, Simon worked as a motivational speaker and created his own non-profit organization, I.M.A.G.E., which focused on improving minority areas and helping at-risk youth.  
 
In 2008, Simon began coaching at Franklin D. Roosevelt High School in Dallas. After a stint as the receivers coach in 2008, he moved to the team’s defensive coordinator role in 2009. He then spent the 2010 season as the special teams coordinator, secondary coach and athletics director. In 2011, he capped his high school coaching career as the interim head coach and athletics director. He moved into administration full-time in 2012, serving as the school’s athletics director. 
 
In 2013, Simon entered the college coaching ranks at Southern Miss as the program’s running backs coach. Under his guidance, running backs Jalen Richard and Ito Smith combined for more than 3,000 total yards, including 2,200 yards on the ground, and 29 total touchdowns in 2015. Southern Miss was one of just five programs in FBS to have two running backs with 1,000 rushing yards in 2015. Smith ranked 18th nationally with 134 all-purpose yards per game that same season. 
  
Richard and Smith, an all-conference duo under Simon’s tutelage, also combined for more than 800 receiving yards in 2015. That season, the Golden Eagles set five season records, grabbed 10 wins and the Conference USA West Division title and earned a Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl berth against Washington. 
 
Simon joined the staff at Louisiana-Lafayette in 2016 as the program’s wide receivers coach. He then moved to Arizona State in 2017. On the Sun Devils staff, Simon served as an associate head coach and worked with the running backs, helping the group account for 27 rushing touchdowns in 2017 and 26 rushing touchdowns in 2018. Kalen Ballage finished 26th in the nation and second in the Pac-12 with 14 rushing touchdowns in 2017. In a win over Texas Tech, Ballage tied an FBS record with eight total TD (7 rush/1 receive). Both Ballage (44 catches) and Demario Richard (17 catches) finished with double-digit receptions. 
  
According to Pro Football Focus, the Sun Devils finished the 2017 regular season with the 30th-highest graded rushing game, an improvement of 11 spots from the 2016 campaign. In 2018, sophomore Eno Benjamin rushed for 1,642 yards, an Arizona State season record, and scored 16 touchdowns. He earned All-Pac-12 first team honors. 
 
Simon and his wife, Cecelia, have two children – John IV and James.