Colorado University Athletics
Former CU Assistant Bob Simmons Passes Away
June 10, 2026 | Football, Alumni C Club
BOULDER – Bob Simmons, the assistant football coach who played a significant role in the University of Colorado's success in the late 80's into the 90's, passed away Tuesday (June 9). He was 77.
Hired on Bill McCartney's staff as outside linebackers coach on March 14, 1988, he had an immediate impact on and off the field. He coached two of CU's greatest outside linebackers, Alfred Williams and Kanavis McGhee, both of whom earned first-team All-American honors. Williams won the 1990 Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker, the first Buffalo to earn a prestigious postseason trophy.
Williams and McGhee teamed for 499 tackles, 85 for losses and 38 quarterback sacks in three seasons under Simmons' tutelage. His players earned 14 mentions on All-Big Eight teams, 10 garnering first-team status.
Colorado's 1992 defense was the best in the modern era, allowing just 278 yards per game, ninth-best in the nation and led the Big Eight, the first time in 34 years CU led the league. In his seven years on the Buff staff, which included coaching the defensive line and being promoted to assistant head coach, CU allowed a paltry 17.0 points per game.
"Bob was an outstanding coach, teacher and an incredible man," said Rick George, CU's recently retired athletic director who the recruiting coordinator under McCartney. "He had a great work ethic, was a great motivator and was a role model for his student athletes."
Among his recruits were quarterback Kordell Stewart, the Big Eight Conference's all-time total offense leader; cornerback Chris Hudson, the 1994 Thorpe Award winner who will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame this December; and quarterback Vance Joseph, currently the defensive coordinator for the AFC Champion Denver Broncos.
"Coach Simmons was a great husband, a great father and also having over a hundred kids who he recruited that loved him just the same," said Stewart." Words can't express what he truly means to me but I'll try – he was a father figure to me. I think most players would say the same. There's nothing like leaving your home to go abroad and still have the same feeling. That happened in Colorado, but most importantly there in Boulder.
"He said many things to me that still resonate to this day," Stewart continued. "Like, 'Get some golf clubs. Relationships and business opportunities can form from those experiences.' I have had many sets of clubs and have established relationships and created some business opportunities. That's one of the few things I remember coach saying. He'll be missed but never forgotten. Thank you, Coach Simmons."
"Coach Simmons recruited me and was the father I needed away from home," Joseph said. "He was my sounding board as a student-athlete and also in my professional coaching career. He always gave me the tough advice that I needed during my toughest times in life."
"Bob was an outstanding position coach and recruiter, said Mike Hankwitz, CU's defensive coordinator who spent seven years on the McCartney staff with him. "He played a major role in our success on defense and in our success as a program. My thoughts and prayers are with Linda and the family."
In his seven seasons at CU, the Buffaloes were 66-15-4, winning three Big Eight titles (1989-90-91) and were the consensus '90 national champions.
After McCartney retired from CU following the 1994 season, Simmons was hired as head coach at Oklahoma State that December, the first African American head football coach in the history of the Big Eight Conference (in its final year of existence before the Big 12 was formed in 1996).
He would lead the Cowboys to a 30-38 record over six seasons, his best year in 1997 when OSU finished 8-4 after opening with six straight wins. The latter was a 33-29 win over CU in Stillwater that ended the Buffs' run of 143 consecutive weeks ranked in the Associated Press poll. That Cowboy team won its most games as well as earning a bowl invitation in nine seasons. He was selected as the Big 12's Coach of the Year.
The first coaching staff Simmons assembled included future Cowboy head coaches Les Miles and Mike Gundy. Later in his tenure he hired Rob Ryan as a co-defensive coordinator. Like he did at Colorado, Simmons recruited and/or coached some of the greatest names in OSU history, including All-Americans Alonzo Mayes, Sam Mayes, McQuarters, Kevin Williams and Rashaun Woods. His 1997 team included eight players who would be All-Big 12 selections.
Simmons endeared himself to the Cowboy fan base by going 3-3 against rival Oklahoma, including a 12-0 win at Norman in his first season, their first win over the Sooners since 1976.
"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 in a story on OSU's website. "The culture he established set a standard of excellence that will impact generations of Cowboys."
He was born June 13, 1948, in Livingston, Ala., lettered in three sports at Shaw High School in East Cleveland, Ohio, and graduated from Bowling Green State University, where he lettered three times at linebacker at earned All-MAC honors as a senior. He joined the CU staff after spending eight seasons at West Virginia under the legendary Don Nehlen, his college coach at BGSU.
He is survived by his wife, Linda, son Brandon and daughter Lelanna; his middle child, son Nathan, died in a hit-and-run accident last August; he was just 48.
Hired on Bill McCartney's staff as outside linebackers coach on March 14, 1988, he had an immediate impact on and off the field. He coached two of CU's greatest outside linebackers, Alfred Williams and Kanavis McGhee, both of whom earned first-team All-American honors. Williams won the 1990 Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker, the first Buffalo to earn a prestigious postseason trophy.
Williams and McGhee teamed for 499 tackles, 85 for losses and 38 quarterback sacks in three seasons under Simmons' tutelage. His players earned 14 mentions on All-Big Eight teams, 10 garnering first-team status.
Colorado's 1992 defense was the best in the modern era, allowing just 278 yards per game, ninth-best in the nation and led the Big Eight, the first time in 34 years CU led the league. In his seven years on the Buff staff, which included coaching the defensive line and being promoted to assistant head coach, CU allowed a paltry 17.0 points per game.
"Bob was an outstanding coach, teacher and an incredible man," said Rick George, CU's recently retired athletic director who the recruiting coordinator under McCartney. "He had a great work ethic, was a great motivator and was a role model for his student athletes."
Among his recruits were quarterback Kordell Stewart, the Big Eight Conference's all-time total offense leader; cornerback Chris Hudson, the 1994 Thorpe Award winner who will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame this December; and quarterback Vance Joseph, currently the defensive coordinator for the AFC Champion Denver Broncos.
"Coach Simmons was a great husband, a great father and also having over a hundred kids who he recruited that loved him just the same," said Stewart." Words can't express what he truly means to me but I'll try – he was a father figure to me. I think most players would say the same. There's nothing like leaving your home to go abroad and still have the same feeling. That happened in Colorado, but most importantly there in Boulder.
"He said many things to me that still resonate to this day," Stewart continued. "Like, 'Get some golf clubs. Relationships and business opportunities can form from those experiences.' I have had many sets of clubs and have established relationships and created some business opportunities. That's one of the few things I remember coach saying. He'll be missed but never forgotten. Thank you, Coach Simmons."
"Coach Simmons recruited me and was the father I needed away from home," Joseph said. "He was my sounding board as a student-athlete and also in my professional coaching career. He always gave me the tough advice that I needed during my toughest times in life."
"Bob was an outstanding position coach and recruiter, said Mike Hankwitz, CU's defensive coordinator who spent seven years on the McCartney staff with him. "He played a major role in our success on defense and in our success as a program. My thoughts and prayers are with Linda and the family."
In his seven seasons at CU, the Buffaloes were 66-15-4, winning three Big Eight titles (1989-90-91) and were the consensus '90 national champions.
After McCartney retired from CU following the 1994 season, Simmons was hired as head coach at Oklahoma State that December, the first African American head football coach in the history of the Big Eight Conference (in its final year of existence before the Big 12 was formed in 1996).
He would lead the Cowboys to a 30-38 record over six seasons, his best year in 1997 when OSU finished 8-4 after opening with six straight wins. The latter was a 33-29 win over CU in Stillwater that ended the Buffs' run of 143 consecutive weeks ranked in the Associated Press poll. That Cowboy team won its most games as well as earning a bowl invitation in nine seasons. He was selected as the Big 12's Coach of the Year.
The first coaching staff Simmons assembled included future Cowboy head coaches Les Miles and Mike Gundy. Later in his tenure he hired Rob Ryan as a co-defensive coordinator. Like he did at Colorado, Simmons recruited and/or coached some of the greatest names in OSU history, including All-Americans Alonzo Mayes, Sam Mayes, McQuarters, Kevin Williams and Rashaun Woods. His 1997 team included eight players who would be All-Big 12 selections.
Simmons endeared himself to the Cowboy fan base by going 3-3 against rival Oklahoma, including a 12-0 win at Norman in his first season, their first win over the Sooners since 1976.
"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 in a story on OSU's website. "The culture he established set a standard of excellence that will impact generations of Cowboys."
He was born June 13, 1948, in Livingston, Ala., lettered in three sports at Shaw High School in East Cleveland, Ohio, and graduated from Bowling Green State University, where he lettered three times at linebacker at earned All-MAC honors as a senior. He joined the CU staff after spending eight seasons at West Virginia under the legendary Don Nehlen, his college coach at BGSU.
He is survived by his wife, Linda, son Brandon and daughter Lelanna; his middle child, son Nathan, died in a hit-and-run accident last August; he was just 48.
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