A Q&A with first-year FIU football coach Willie Simmons, part 1: Family, wine and cigars

The Herald recently spoke to new FIU football coach Willie Simmons for nearly an hour.

Here is that conversation, split up into a three-part series.

Part One pertains to Simmons off the field.

Can you tell us about your family?

My wife Shaia and I grew up in the same small town of Quincy, Florida. We went to middle school and high school together. We reconnected after many years and started our family.

Louis III, our oldest son, is 26, and he is a personal-injury attorney. Last spring, he graduated from FAMU’s law school.

Amerie, 19, graduated high school, and she’s working. She and Louis are living at the house in (Tallahassee) that my wife and I own.

Raven is a senior in high school and lives with her mom and stepfather in Tallahassee. She is the valedictorian. We’re proud of her and all of her accomplishments. She will attend FAMU, and she wants to march in the band and get an engineering degree. She will then go to grad school somewhere, preferably where I’m coaching so I don’t have to pay for it.

Shailoh (pronounced SHY-low) is 10, and she’s like her mom – brilliant, tall, loves to read. She loves dolls and everything girlie. She’s the one who has me wrapped around her finger the most. I tell our other kids that they better treat her right because all my money is going to her, and she will divvy it up.

Wraylon is our youngest son. He’s eight, and we call him ‘Champ.’ He is my clone – looks like me, walks like me, moody like me at times. He doesn’t want you to know that he’s smart, but he’s brilliant. He’s athletic. He wants to play tennis and flag football. My older sister gave him the nickname Champ when he was born, and it stuck.

Truth is five, and she’s the boss of them all. She has qualities of all five of (her older siblings). She’s athletic, smart, stubborn, feisty. She’s the unexpected one. After Wraylon, my wife and I said we were done, but God had other ideas. Truth is a blessing.

Once we found out we were expecting, my wife prayed, and Truth was the name that came to her. And she is that – she is the Truth.

The three little ones will be here soon. And we’re working to get our three older children here for a game so that they can see South Florida.

We also have two dogs, Honey and Hershey.

What is your favorite form of relaxation?

A cigar. At night, after we put the kids to bed, I go to our patio, smoke a cigar and pour a glass of red wine.

Are Cuban cigars the best?

No doubt, but you have to get authentic ones, which is hard to do. I like all types of cigars, but the one time my wife and I went to Cuba, I smoked authentic Cuban cigars. It was a great smoke -- unlike any others I’ve had in my life.

Are your wife and three youngest children with you in Miami?

No, they are still in Durham, North Carolina. We didn’t want to uproot the kids in the middle of the school year. The plan is to get them down here in early June and start school in South Florida in the fall.

Where will you guys settle as a family?

My wife is still looking. As the CFO of our family, she makes those decisions for us. I’m pretty simple wherever we go. If they have bed for me and a patio out back to smoke my cigars, I’m pretty easy.

I’m not sure where we will land, but she’s found some nice areas in Dade and Broward.

Where are you living now?

A few of us coaches who are out-of-towners (including offensive coordinator Nick Coleman and special-teams coordinator Kenneth Gilstrap) are temporarily living in an Airbnb. It’s like a college dorm house (laughs).

Are there are a lot of football conversations in that house?

There’s a lot of snoring (laughs). We’re in the office by 5:30 or 6 in the morning. By the time we get home late at night, the last thing we want to do is talk football.

At that point, we’re getting whatever rest we can get so that we can get up and do it all over again the next day.

What do you like most about Miami?

The food has been amazing – Caribbean food, Cuban food, Asian food. There are a lot of great eating spots in South Florida.

What’s the biggest adjustment for you to make in Miami?

The language barrier. I don’t speak Spanish. It’s really frustrating to me because I really want to learn. Something as simple as ordering food can be a challenge.

Fortunately, we do have some our coaches who are fluent in Spanish such as (associate head coach/tight ends coach) Frank Ponce; (defensive coordinator Jovan) Dewitt; and (general manager) Jose Jefferson.

I took Spanish for two years in high school and two years in college, but I only know about two phrases that I can say.

Have you gotten a chance to see some of Miami’s tourist attractions?

I was able to go to a NASCAR event in Homestead, but the kids aren’t here. I’d feel bad seeing some type of national monument without them. I will wait for the summer, and we’ll take a tour of the city together.

Your birthday is Oct. 12, and that’s an open week on FIU’s schedule. How will you celebrate?

I’m low-key, low maintenance.

Maybe because my birthday is during football season, and I’ve been playing or coaching football since I was eight-years-old, I’ve never really celebrated it.

My wife loves birthdays. She threw a huge. birthday party for me a few years ago, but it was during the summer because she knew I would be too busy during the season.

Have you ever celebrated your birthday in a big way during the season?

Once, when I turned 30. I was an assistant coach at Middle Tennessee, and I missed the staff meeting the next day. That was my lesson.

This year, I will probably be watching film or doing something football-related. Birthdays for me are not a highlight. I hate to take attention away from the players and my job.

In terms of material things, what means the most to you?

I’m not a materialistic person, but I would say my cigar collection is my pride and joy. Everything else is just stuff. If there is one thing I want to make sure doesn’t get damaged in the move to Miami, it’s my cigar collection.

This story was originally published April 15, 2025 at 6:00 AM.