Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
“If you don't have it in you, you can't play for me” - Q&A with Offensive Line Coach Kendall Simmons
1/31/2024 6:32:00 PM | Football
The eight-year NFL veteran gets his first chance to run a position room on Derek Mason’s staff
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Kendall Simmons knows that he still has much to learn in his first few months as Offensive Line Coach for Middle Tennessee.
As much as he learned in his time at his alma mater, Auburn, in how to run a room or how he coaches others best, or what he already knew about himself from his years in the NFL, Derek Mason was sure to remind Simmons there's so much more responsibility still ahead of him, from hiring a GA to making sure his offensive linemen are staying straight off-the-field as well as on it.
But after years of work, grinding film reviews and back-of-house responsibilities, waiting for his chance to truly be a full-time position coach, Simmons knows he's ready. And he's grateful for the opportunity Mason gave him to come to Murfreesboro.
"It's really kind of hard to put it in words," Simmons said. "It's starting to become a reality now that I'm getting a chance to meet all the guys doing an offensive install."
A 2002 first round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Simmons was the starter for the Super Bowl XL Champion Steelers at right guard, playing eight seasons in the league and eventually serving as an NFLPA rep, an experience that Simmons said helped him get a start in his coaching career by being a good listener.
"I tell people all the time I'm a people watcher," Simmons said. "I don't say much, but I sit back, and I watch, and I listen to everything as much as I can. That gives me a feel on how I need to speak or step up and say something at the right time."
After being diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes in 2003, Simmons became a motivational speaker to the type 1 Diabetes community, supporting charity and research around the disease, which Simmons says affected every snap he played in the NFL and still affects how he lives his day-to-day life to this day. But it also helped him discover just how resilient he could be, as well as how impactful he could be on others. Values he tries to instill not only in his children, but in the players he works with.
"It's taught me more about myself than anything else I've ever dealt with," Simmons said. "Kids told me, you gave me a reason to keep pushing, because I saw that you never gave up on it."
GoBlueRaiders.com Staff Writer Sam Doughton sat down with Simmons earlier this month to chat about his coaching journey, his coaching style and what he wants the Blue Raider offensive line to be known for as long as he coaches that unit.
The conversation has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.
---
You've been very appreciative to Coach Mason for giving you your first shot at being a full-time position coach. What does it mean to finally get that chance after grinding for so many years behind the scenes, even serving as the interim offensive line coach at Auburn at one point in time?
It's really kind of hard to put it in words. It's starting to become a reality now that I'm getting a chance to meet all the guys doing an offensive install. Coach Mason made a good point with me the other day, because I need to hire a GA. And we've got one coming the first part of February. He's like "Kendall, you're going to have to switch your whole thought process, because there's going to be so many other things that you've got to do instead of the film breakdown and all that kind of stuff. You've got a lot of guys that you're more responsible for now."
So, it's going to take me a minute to get myself into that groove. But when I'm around (the players), I love talking to them. They're coming by, asking questions, they're all eager to get going. It's exciting right now.
What about Coach Mason helped y'all form that connection after just one year on staff together?
The type of person he was. I could tell that he was genuine from the start. I gravitated to him because of his connection with the players. He never sugar coated anything. In a lot of ways, he reminds me of (Pittsburg Steelers) Coach (Mike) Tomlin. What you see is what you get and if you ask a question, you might not like the answer you get, but at least you know it's coming from a good place. There's not any malice behind it, he's just telling you the truth.
That's made me feel a lot more comfortable just showing my vulnerability to him. Saying "Look, I'm new at this. And there are a lot of things I don't know, so I'm going to ask a lot of questions." He said "Look, that's what you're supposed to do." Because Leslie Frazier gave him his very first opportunity, he felt the need to pay it forward. Which I know he's done for other people before, and I feel appreciative of that.
What are some things you hope to pull from the coaches you've worked with into your own position room in your first year?
The accountability piece. Making sure the guys hold up their end of the bargain off the field. I know that on the field, I'm going to do everything I can to get it out of them. But we're trying to develop young men, not just football players. We want these guys, at the end of the day, to leave here better than when they came. And know that I had an opportunity to affect that.
Even just being an analyst and an assistant o-line coach at Auburn, I still have some of my former players call and say "Coach, you don't realize what you've done for me." I always felt this way: If I can affect one of them, I've done my job.
You have a ton of experience in the NFL as a player. How do you hope you can use that in coaching and in recruiting?
The way I look at it is I've always learned from coaches who could somewhat show me what they wanted me to do. And that's getting in a stance, doing stuff physically, that made an impact on me. I feel like that's what I can give the players. I can still do certain things that I did when I played. Not at the same intensity!
But for a rep, you can show them what you want?
Exactly! Look, this is not what I want on film, but I can show you. I need your hands here; I need you to do this or that. I think guys learn that way. And they also feel as if, like you said, the experience from the NFL, like I'm learning from somebody who's done it at that level I possibly want to get to one day.
What do you want the offensive line room to be known for under Coach Simmons? What do you want their mentality to be? What do you want other teams to expect from them when they're coming into Floyd Stadium?
If I could say what I wanted to *laughs*. Extremely physical, relentless, nasty, great people. And protectors of the offensive line, in any way you want to put that. But we're going to be physical, one way or another. I told the guys from the beginning. I said "If you don't have it in you, you can't play for me." I was raised on effort. I'm an effort guy. You will be judged off the effort that you give me.
That's how I made it as far as I did. Yes, that takes talent. But when you give effort consistently, a lot of times talent is going to give up at some point, if that's all they have. I always raised my kids that way and I see it the same way (on the field). Give me effort, and you're going to have no problem with me.
Weight room workouts have just started, so you're not quite on the field with the guys yet. But what intrigues you about the offensive line room as it stands right now, with both old and new guys coming in?
What intrigues me about this group is how they are together like brothers. I sit back and go down to the weight room and watch them. I watch them pick on each other, poking fun. You learn about a group and how close they are by the way they interact with each other. They've already started to pull the new guys in.
That's the one thing that I can say, from the beginning. You've got guys here from the West Coast that don't have cars. "Hey, y'all make sure y'all take care of these dudes." And automatically, they're pulling them in, taking them places. That shows me that this group is going to be close and they're extremely eager. I haven't seen anything down there that's negative that I'm like "Ok, I'm going to have to worry about this." They love Coach Blatnick, they're trying to get after it and it's all new to him. Most of the time in the situation like this, you can find them being a little hesitant. They're coming up here constantly, there's somebody always in this hall, every position. So that's what I like about it.
As much as he learned in his time at his alma mater, Auburn, in how to run a room or how he coaches others best, or what he already knew about himself from his years in the NFL, Derek Mason was sure to remind Simmons there's so much more responsibility still ahead of him, from hiring a GA to making sure his offensive linemen are staying straight off-the-field as well as on it.
But after years of work, grinding film reviews and back-of-house responsibilities, waiting for his chance to truly be a full-time position coach, Simmons knows he's ready. And he's grateful for the opportunity Mason gave him to come to Murfreesboro.
"It's really kind of hard to put it in words," Simmons said. "It's starting to become a reality now that I'm getting a chance to meet all the guys doing an offensive install."
A 2002 first round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Simmons was the starter for the Super Bowl XL Champion Steelers at right guard, playing eight seasons in the league and eventually serving as an NFLPA rep, an experience that Simmons said helped him get a start in his coaching career by being a good listener.
"I tell people all the time I'm a people watcher," Simmons said. "I don't say much, but I sit back, and I watch, and I listen to everything as much as I can. That gives me a feel on how I need to speak or step up and say something at the right time."
After being diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes in 2003, Simmons became a motivational speaker to the type 1 Diabetes community, supporting charity and research around the disease, which Simmons says affected every snap he played in the NFL and still affects how he lives his day-to-day life to this day. But it also helped him discover just how resilient he could be, as well as how impactful he could be on others. Values he tries to instill not only in his children, but in the players he works with.
"It's taught me more about myself than anything else I've ever dealt with," Simmons said. "Kids told me, you gave me a reason to keep pushing, because I saw that you never gave up on it."
GoBlueRaiders.com Staff Writer Sam Doughton sat down with Simmons earlier this month to chat about his coaching journey, his coaching style and what he wants the Blue Raider offensive line to be known for as long as he coaches that unit.
The conversation has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.
---
You've been very appreciative to Coach Mason for giving you your first shot at being a full-time position coach. What does it mean to finally get that chance after grinding for so many years behind the scenes, even serving as the interim offensive line coach at Auburn at one point in time?
It's really kind of hard to put it in words. It's starting to become a reality now that I'm getting a chance to meet all the guys doing an offensive install. Coach Mason made a good point with me the other day, because I need to hire a GA. And we've got one coming the first part of February. He's like "Kendall, you're going to have to switch your whole thought process, because there's going to be so many other things that you've got to do instead of the film breakdown and all that kind of stuff. You've got a lot of guys that you're more responsible for now."
So, it's going to take me a minute to get myself into that groove. But when I'm around (the players), I love talking to them. They're coming by, asking questions, they're all eager to get going. It's exciting right now.
What about Coach Mason helped y'all form that connection after just one year on staff together?
The type of person he was. I could tell that he was genuine from the start. I gravitated to him because of his connection with the players. He never sugar coated anything. In a lot of ways, he reminds me of (Pittsburg Steelers) Coach (Mike) Tomlin. What you see is what you get and if you ask a question, you might not like the answer you get, but at least you know it's coming from a good place. There's not any malice behind it, he's just telling you the truth.
That's made me feel a lot more comfortable just showing my vulnerability to him. Saying "Look, I'm new at this. And there are a lot of things I don't know, so I'm going to ask a lot of questions." He said "Look, that's what you're supposed to do." Because Leslie Frazier gave him his very first opportunity, he felt the need to pay it forward. Which I know he's done for other people before, and I feel appreciative of that.
What are some things you hope to pull from the coaches you've worked with into your own position room in your first year?
The accountability piece. Making sure the guys hold up their end of the bargain off the field. I know that on the field, I'm going to do everything I can to get it out of them. But we're trying to develop young men, not just football players. We want these guys, at the end of the day, to leave here better than when they came. And know that I had an opportunity to affect that.
Even just being an analyst and an assistant o-line coach at Auburn, I still have some of my former players call and say "Coach, you don't realize what you've done for me." I always felt this way: If I can affect one of them, I've done my job.
You have a ton of experience in the NFL as a player. How do you hope you can use that in coaching and in recruiting?
The way I look at it is I've always learned from coaches who could somewhat show me what they wanted me to do. And that's getting in a stance, doing stuff physically, that made an impact on me. I feel like that's what I can give the players. I can still do certain things that I did when I played. Not at the same intensity!
But for a rep, you can show them what you want?
Exactly! Look, this is not what I want on film, but I can show you. I need your hands here; I need you to do this or that. I think guys learn that way. And they also feel as if, like you said, the experience from the NFL, like I'm learning from somebody who's done it at that level I possibly want to get to one day.
What do you want the offensive line room to be known for under Coach Simmons? What do you want their mentality to be? What do you want other teams to expect from them when they're coming into Floyd Stadium?
If I could say what I wanted to *laughs*. Extremely physical, relentless, nasty, great people. And protectors of the offensive line, in any way you want to put that. But we're going to be physical, one way or another. I told the guys from the beginning. I said "If you don't have it in you, you can't play for me." I was raised on effort. I'm an effort guy. You will be judged off the effort that you give me.
That's how I made it as far as I did. Yes, that takes talent. But when you give effort consistently, a lot of times talent is going to give up at some point, if that's all they have. I always raised my kids that way and I see it the same way (on the field). Give me effort, and you're going to have no problem with me.
Weight room workouts have just started, so you're not quite on the field with the guys yet. But what intrigues you about the offensive line room as it stands right now, with both old and new guys coming in?
What intrigues me about this group is how they are together like brothers. I sit back and go down to the weight room and watch them. I watch them pick on each other, poking fun. You learn about a group and how close they are by the way they interact with each other. They've already started to pull the new guys in.
That's the one thing that I can say, from the beginning. You've got guys here from the West Coast that don't have cars. "Hey, y'all make sure y'all take care of these dudes." And automatically, they're pulling them in, taking them places. That shows me that this group is going to be close and they're extremely eager. I haven't seen anything down there that's negative that I'm like "Ok, I'm going to have to worry about this." They love Coach Blatnick, they're trying to get after it and it's all new to him. Most of the time in the situation like this, you can find them being a little hesitant. They're coming up here constantly, there's somebody always in this hall, every position. So that's what I like about it.
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