Long tenured and a part of Redskins history
Please join me and the entire staff of The Curly R as we wish longtime and former Washington Redskins tight ends coach Rennie Simmons a happy birthday, Rennie turns 67 today.
Rennie stepped down as Redskins tight ends coach and retired last month on 7 January, of Rennie's 27 years as an NFL coach he was with the Redskins for 15. Among the tight ends Rennie coached here in Washington are Chris Cooley, Clint Didier, Don Warren, Frank Wycheck, Jimmie Johnson, Ken Whisenhunt, Robert Royal and Touchdown Terry Orr.
Rennie was a high school football teammate of Joe Gibbs and both went to play for legendary coach Don Coryell at San Diego State. When Joe got the head coaching job in Washington before the 1981 season Joe found Rennie and brought him aboard. And over his career Rennie coached exactly the way the offense dictated. During his first run in Washington from 1981 to 1992 Joe Gibbs did not run a tight end heavy offense, the tight end was usually an extra blocker, look at Don Warren, he played his entire NFL career from 1979 to 1992 with Washington and never caught more than 29 passes in a season while Joe Gibbs was coach. By contrast Chris Cooley has never caught less than 37 in a season, his first year in the NFL, and last year led the team with 83 receptions!
Rennie Simmons coached the talent the team had to the scheme the team used. Given the variation in productivity of the position players coached by over the years Rennie was as much a tight ends coach as he was an offensive line coach and a receivers coach.
Which turned out to be convenient for the Redskins who moved Rennie to offensive line coach for the 1992 and 1993 seasons after Joe Bugel had left for the Phoenix Cardinals, Rennie shared the offensive line duties with another long serving Redskins coach, Jim Hanifan.
After leaving the Redskins before the 1994 season Rennie joined Chuck Knox's Los Angeles Rams staff as tight ends coach where he worked with former Redskins colleague special teams coach Wayne Sevier and quarterbacks coach one Mike Martz, then still in his first pro gig, three years later in 1997 Mike would join Norval Turner's staff in Washington as quarterbacks coach.
Rennie spent 1995 on the Vanderbilt University staff before joining Jeff Fisher's Houston Oilers staff in 1996 as offensive line coach where he coached with future Redskins offensive coordinator Sherman Smith, then still in his first pro job.
Before the 1997 season Rennie joined Dan Reeves' remarkably stable staff in Atlanta as receivers coach, where he was reunited with former Redskins quarterbacks coach Jack Burns, as well as future Redskins quarterbacks coach Bill Lazor. Rennie stayed with Dan Reeves all seven seasons in Atlanta.
When Joe Gibbs returned to Washington before the 2004 season, Joe brought Rennie back. All he did here was help turn Chris Cooley into a Pro Bowl tight end and a team leader.
As a Redskins fan I say thank you to Rennie Simmons for your 15 year contribution to Redskins football. Now go enjoy yourself.
As a side note for you long time Redskins fans, Matt Terl at the ORB (Official Redskins Blog) went and found both former Redskins tight end Don Warren and current tight end Chris Cooley and talked to them both about Rennie, it is amusing if not surprising that two guys separated in their playing careers by twenty years would describe their position coach in such similar terms. Rennie apparently remained the same.
Rennie Simmons in 1984 uncredited image from here.
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