I'll have a more in-depth post on this later but I just got the email and thought I would get it out there. My initial thoughts are that this looks like a good hire by Quinn and is similar to the other two coaching moves he made this season.
He is not going with young up and coming coaches but established guys. UB has a lot of talent in the backfield, talent that was very underutilized last season and Quinn is bringing in someone who has experience with some of the best backs in the game.
I don't know if two months will be enough for Coach Simon to 'put his stamp' on the backfield but it almost can't be worse than last season.
BUFFALO, NY (UB Athletics) – University at Buffalo head football coach Jeff Quinn has announced that Matt Simon, who boasts 30 years of coaching experience including both a national championship and a Super Bowl title, has joined his staff.
Simon will coach the Bulls’ running backs, filling the vacancy left earlier this month when Mike Daniels resigned for personal reasons. He brings a tremendous resume built upon 11 years of coaching in the National Football League and 18 years at the collegiate level, including serving as the head coach at the University of North Texas for three seasons.
Simon began his coaching career at the University of Washington, serving under head coach Don James from 1981-92, a tenure that was highlighted when the Huskies claimed a share of the national championship in 1991. He coached three All-Americans at UW, including running backs Greg Lewis and Napoleon Kaufman.
He would go on to serve as offensive coordinator at New Mexico from 1992-94 where his offenses ranked 18th and 10th nationally in his two seasons. He would then be named head coach at the University of North Texas, where in his first season he would lead the Mean Green to the Southland Conference title and earn Conference and AFCA Region 4 Coach of the Year honors.
After interning for one season with the Denver Broncos in 1998, Simon was named running backs coach with the Baltimore Ravens, where he contributed to tremendous success by the franchise, including helping the Ravens earn a Super Bowl title in 2000. He also helped lead Baltimore to playoff berths in 2001 and 2003, when the Ravens claimed their first AFC North title. With Baltimore he would coach Pro Bowler Jamal Lewis, who in 2003 under Simon’s tutelage, would post the second-highest rushing total in NFL history when he rushed for 2,066 yards and scored 14 touchdowns.
His success with running backs would continue when he spent the 2007-08 seasons with the San Diego Chargers. There he would help LaDainian Tomlinson to his second NFL rushing title, while fumbling just once, and also tutored Pro Bowl fullback Lorenzo Neal and Darren Sproles, who would earn a Pro Bowl alternate invite as a return specialist.
He has spent the past two years as a professional football consultant and head coach at Gilmour Academy in Gates Mills, OH. He has worked with several players to prepare them for the Senior Bowl, NFL combine and NFL draft, including Detroit Lions 2010 first-round selection Jahvid Best.
"I am elated to have a coach and person of Matt’s caliber become a part of our program here at UB," said Quinn. "He has coached and mentored young men at the highest levels of collegiate and professional football while achieving great success.
"Coach Simon adds to an already impressive staff of teachers, leaders and coaches that we have assembled to help our young men graduate with a degree from the University at Buffalo and compete for championships," said Quinn. "It speaks volumes to know that Matt is now the fourth person on our staff that has served as a college head coach, joining Alex Wood (offensive coordinator), Don Patterson (quarterbacks coach) and Ernest Jones (cornerbacks/recruiting coordinator)."