INDIANAPOLIS — No one has worked with Duke Tobin longer than Darrin Simmons. And no one has a better read inside the organization than Simmons on how the team’s director of player personnel approaches the NFL Draft.
Simmons began with the Bengals in 2003, four years after Tobin took over as director of player personnel with the team. Simmons is well aware of the focus on the organization to re-build the roster, especially on defense to support Joe Burrow and put the Bengals firmly back in their Super Bowl window. Simmons also knows that Tobin’s voice in the organization has naturally grown in the two decades-plus in formulating a roster.
“I think that like it is with anything, I think there’s his opinion, his opinions always mattered,” Simmons said of Tobin’s voice with the Brown and Blackburns. “I think it carries a little stronger weight now, as his role has kind of transitioned… it’s a very unique way that things are structured at our place. It’s still collaborative. I still, I’ll always say it’s collaborative, but I do believe, in terms of the draft, that Duke and his group do a good job of evaluating the players.
“I think maybe the way that the final say on the players, how they’re selected, maybe has evolved a little bit. It’s probably gone, probably has a pretty heavy hand in that. Now, Hank, he’s always had a heavy hand. I think it’s a little heavier now, but yeah, just over the course of time, I think just naturally, the longer in one place, like for it has been for him, I think the decision making process is he’s bigger part of that, stronger part of that.”
Simmons’ perspective on all personnel matters is very relevant because if a rookie draft pick doesn’t wind up starting on offense or defense, it’s up to Simmons to find a potential role on special teams while they develop their offensive or defensive roles as a backup. In other words, no one has a bigger influence on many of the rookie draft picks in their development than Simmons.
“If there’s one thing I think has changed, and it’s a big change for me, is you look at guy’s history, their collegiate history. In the past, they were at one school, or maybe two schools, and if there are two schools, you’re trying to figure out, ‘All right, why did you leave your first school and go to the next school?’ Well, anymore, it’s very rare to find anybody who’s been at one school. They’ve been different schools over time, and it’s understandable why the way that the college landscapes changed. I think it’s always very interesting. In these interviews we sit in just to develop a feel for what their personality is.
“I sit in these formal interviews, and we’ve got 20 minutes to talk to somebody, and we kind of got to, in my own mind, a thumbs up or a thumbs down, and in that 20 minutes, and that’s kind of my your job, right is to is to try to speed date a little bit and get a feel of that 20 minutes your first exposure to them, some cases, maybe last. But it’s always interesting to me to go back and compare, you know, notes that I’ve taken on players from the past and say, ‘Okay, was I right on this guy? Was I wrong, you know?’ And how does those, how do those situations, how do those feelings that they had back then? How does it change for these young guys going forward? So it’s always very interesting time to listen these guys, backgrounds, where they came from, what they deal with.”
Simmons began his NFL career with Baltimore special teams in 1998 under Ted Marchibroda before moving onto Carolina in 1999. Simmons wasn’t really engaged in personnel decisions and drafting until his arrival in Cincinnati in 2003.
“Whenever I was in Baltimore and Carolina, I was super young at the time I was and I really didn’t have exposure to that,” Simmons noted. “So, yeah, I mean, I think Duke’s knowledge of the whole process, it’s more than just probably selecting players. There’s so much that goes into it, right? The rules, how you acquire them, whether it’s through free agency, through the draft, I think he has a very good feel for and the rest of the group there too, for ordering the draft board. I think they’ve got a really good feel for how the players should be ordered. Then I think it’s it comes down to what makes the best sense for us, whether it’s a need, a certain need, it’s something you have to balance, right? Need at the position versus who the best player is, and I think that’s where he’s got to come in, and he’s got to exert his will and exert his expertise into those spots.”
Simmons knows there’s more public scrutiny and urgency this offseason for the organization need to have a productive offseason in free agency and the draft to improve the defense and the quality of depth on offense. But for all the external hype and hand wringing, Simmons said those feelings don’t find their way into day-to-day conversations and decisions being made about the roster.
“If he reads any media, that he would feel that right, because I think everybody feels that and sees that and senses that,” Simmons said. “But if we had a personal conversation about (the roster), no, that’s not the way with him, necessarily. He’s somebody that I respect. I’ve been around him a long time. I know the amount of work that those guys put into trying to put the draft and everything together. That’s kind of been his baby, the draft. But there’s a lot that goes into developing a roster, whether it’s free agency, the draft. There’s a million ways that you can acquire players, and I think we have to be creative about the way we do that, and that’s always the million-dollar question.”
Simmons, the only special teams coordinator that Zac Taylor has had, made one other thing very clear this week – he’s completely supportive of his head coach.
“I think it’s that befalls all of us. It’s not just Zac. I mean, we all have an equal part. He’s the leader, he’s the head of (the team). And we also have to be better around him. We have to all be consistent. We’ve got to play complementary football. I think that comes from every facet of the game. We’ve got to be improved defensively, we got to improve in the kicking game, we got improving all facets of our game, and I think our team has a high degree of trust in him and a good feel, and I think he’s a good leader for our group. So I have nothing but confidence in him.
“I think it’s a great quality that he has in both facets, both when we’re winning and when we’re losing. Is he is able to stay on an even keel? I’m probably not as much that way. I’m more emotional, and I’m okay with that. That’s me, and that’s the difference. That’s why Zac’s in the position he’s in right is he is able to control that, and I think it’s a big quality that he has.”
Some other takeaways from Darrin Simmons this week at the NFL Combine in Indy:
Drafted as a safety as a fifth rounder in 2022, he has become crucial to Simmons – first as a personal protector on punts – and now as a gunner in coverage. He is currently in talks with the Bengals on a contract extension. Aside from Evan McPherson, Anderson might be the single-most valuable player that Simmons coaches on a regular basis. He moved from personal protector to gunner because they needed his speed and tackling ability.
“I would love that. I think he’s a huge, huge factor for us. He’s obviously a good player. I think that he’s been important cog for us, and he knows how I feel about him. We stay in touch a lot and have throughout his career. I’ve got a great affection for him. I have a great deal of trust and admiration for what he does, and it’d be great to get him back.”
“He’s a rookie player that’s kind of learning to find his way how to play pro football. I say that a lot, but it’s a fact. There’s a certain period of time that it takes young guys to figure out. He was the primary ball carrier at Texas Tech, and to try and transition that into being his major role is to contribute in the kicking game. It’s a change. And so, he’s a guy I think that has a bright future. He’s one of the guys that we’re trying to get trained to play some these other positions, and it’s going to be up to him how fast you know that his acumen can increase, and have a high level of comfort to put him in those spots, but I think the future is bright for him. It’s fantastic. He’s a great kid, comes from a great program. We had high marks on him when he came out. That’s the reason why we took him. And I still feel the same way. It’s just a matter of him developing and getting more and more and more and more reps.”
