Are The Rattlers Ready To Strike Again?
A Special to TEMPO News BY TED TAYLOR, Guest Writer
When Willie Simmons accepted the job as head football coach of Florida A&M University, two questions were repeatedly asked. It was wondered why would he want to leave a program with new athletic facilities at Prairie View A&M University and whether he was the one to return FAMU to national prominence. During the coaching tenure of Billy Joe, the last FAMU coach to win a national championship, the Rattlers dominated Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) football and was a perennial Division I-AA, now Football Championship Series (FCS), playoff contender. In 2003, a downward spiral began, caused inwardly by FAMU. In 2003, FAMU jumped to Division I-A, now Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), without a thought-out plan that resulted in a championship caliber Division I-AA team being dismantled. This resulted in a dismal 2004 season of 3-8, while playing mostly I-A teams. Ironically, Simmons was a member of the 2003 team, who transferred to avoid having to sit-out a year. At the end of the 2004 season, Coach Joe was wrongfully terminated. Also, at the end of that season, the I-A move was rescinded and FAMU returned to I-AA.
Nevertheless, the damage had been done and dominance demised. In 2005 and 2006 Rubin Carter came in with 6-and 7- victory seasons, respectively, but could not defeat teams in the top tier of the MidEastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). Carter slipped to 3-8 in 2007, and was replaced by legendary coach Joe Taylor of Hampton University fame. Taylor guided the Rattlers to records of 9-3 in 2008, 8-3 in 2009, and 8-3 in 2010, sharing the MEAC crown with South Carolina State and Bethune-Cookman University. In 2011, Taylor finished 7-4, and his exit followed in 2012, when the team finished 4-7. The Taylor era was followed by his defensive coordinator and FAMU Hall of Famer Earl Holmes. Holmes had been a Pittsburg Steelers standout and was unceremoniously fired by then athletic director Kellen Winslow during Homecoming week in 2014, a little over a year into the position. In December 2014, then interim athletic director Nelson Townsend hired Alex Wood, whom Townsend had known while serving as athletic director at the University of Buffalo. Wood stepped into an unenviable situation following the popular Holmes, who many wanted to be given another chance feeling he was mistreated by Winslow, and Townsend died the next month. Under the helm of Wood, FAMU football sank further and became an after-thought as fan support and football enthusiasm dropped to the lowest point in its history. Wood had the type of personality that was not endearing or engaging to the fans and in his second year publicly questioned the ability of the players. Needless to say, the end of the Wood experiment was not a day to soon. Through the years, turnover in athletic directors and department staff was as much as coaching turnover. When former Rattler quarterback and coach Ken Riley was abruptly terminated as athletic director by new president Fred Gainous in December 2001, the department surplus in the millions was soon decimated and financial woes with annual deficits mushroomed. During the ten-year tenure of Riley, athletics was stable and profitable. FAMU football was in such disarray that from 2012, the most victories in a given season was three and losing homecoming games became common. Most insulting has been a sevengame losing streak to cross-state rival B-CU. When the coaching search commenced in late 2017, Simmons name soon rose to the top. Despite the facilities at FAMU being nowhere close to PVAMU and interest at the lowest point, a renewed enthusiasm arose with his hiring. The Simmons onfield era started with a less than dominant performance against Fort Valley State, a weak Division II opponent, which featured a recordsetting six field goals by Yahia Aly. The next week FAMU was decked by FBS Troy State in which Aly missed two short field goals and has been inconsistent since then. After the Troy game, in which Simmons stated coaching was responsible for the way they played, certain events have occurred that appear to have changed things. The 1978 national championship team was honored at the Jackson State game and Coach Rudy Hubbard ran onto the field arm-in-arm with Simmons. A late game blunder arguably led to the loss, from which Simmons has learned. The 1998 national championship team was honored the next weekend at the Savannah State game and Coach Joe ran onto the field with Simmons. The Rattlers won that game going away, and the next week in Durham, North Carolina, scored the most points (55) since the reign of Joe against North Carolina Central. The homecoming game against Norfolk State was the first one in years in which anxiety wasn’t prevalent. There appeared to be a sense of confidence among the faithful, instead of worry that another Homecoming would be spoiled. Following the game, former kicker Wesley “Mr. Clutch” Taylor of the 2004-2007 era, talked to Aly, encouraging him to keep working and remain positive to overcome the kicking woes and remain confident. Taylor was able to share the disappointments of an inconsistent year in 2004, with all-American accomplishments thereafter. Probably, neither Tay lor or Aly contemplated that one week later Aly would be on the stage with the biggest kick of his life. And with four seconds remaining in the game, after having missed a field goal earlier in the game, Aly booted a 26-yard field goal to secure a 22-21 victory over North Carolina A&T, the number one team in HBCU football. The victory catapulted the Rattlers to the top of the HBCU polls for the first time since the 1998 season. The remainder of the season has FAMU facing tough competition in the likes of Howard University, with its potent offense, always tough South Carolina State and rival B-CU.
