Darrin Simmons Darrin Simmons ( born April 9 , 1973 in Elkhart , Kansas ) is a coach in American football . Currently he is in his fourth season as the Cincinnati Bengals ( National Football League ) special teams coach . Under his tutelage , in the 2005 season , the Cincinnati Bengals got record - breaking performances from their kicking specialists and kickoff returner , plus Top - 10 work from the kickoff return and kickoff coverage teams . Simmons ’ s biggest individual success story has been placekicker Shayne Graham . Simmons faced a challenge in 2003 , when Graham joined the Bengals on waivers just a week before the regular - season opener and was moved into the No . 1 job . But Simmons has helped guide Graham to three of the finest kicking seasons in Bengals history . In 2005 , Graham became the first Bengals kicker to make the Pro Bowl . He broke his own team record with 131 points ; broke a record ( he previously had shared ) by making 14 straight field goals ( streak is still active entering 2006 ) ; and he qualified as the most accurate FG kicker in club history ( 87 . 5 percent ) . Second - year punter Kyle Larson , originally a Bengals college free agent signee under Simmons , averaged 43 . 2 yards per kick in 2005 . It was the club ’ s best average since 1998 , and the punt team ’ s 35 . 6 - yard net average was also the Bengals ’ best since 1998 . Larson set a team record with a 75 - yard punt at Jacksonville , breaking the previous mark of 73 by Brad Costello . Rookie kickoff returner Tab Perry set Bengals season records for total returns ( 64 ) and KOR yards ( 1562 ) in 2005 . He was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance Dec . 4 at Pittsburgh , which included a 94 - yard KOR . The 2005 Bengals finished ninth in the NFL in team KOR average ( 23 . 6 ) and finished seventh in kickoff coverage ( 21 . 0 ) . In 2003 , Simmons ’ s first Bengals season , his return and coverage units provided a major boost in the punting game . Cincinnati finished 12th in punt return average and 11th in opponents punt return average , following a 2002 season in which the team had finished 31st in returns and 32nd in coverage . In 2004 , Bengals coverage and return teams ranked in the NFL ’ s top half in three of four areas , topped by a fifth - ranked kickoff coverage team allowing 19 . 7 yards per return . Simmons began his NFL coaching career in 1998 on the same Baltimore Ravens staff as Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis . Simmons was assistant special teams coach and assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Ravens in 1998 , and he held that same role for the Carolina Panthers from 1999 – 2002 . A former college punter himself , Simmons played an integral role at Carolina in the continued development of Todd Sauerbrun as one of the NFL ’ s top punters . Carolina ranked fourth in the NFL in 2002 in net punting average ( 37 . 5 ) , and the Panthers special units led the league in kickoff coverage with only 18 . 5 yards allowed per return . College . Simmons excelled while punting for the University of Kansas ( KU ) from 1993 – 95 , earning All - Big Eight honors his final year . As a senior , he helped the Jayhawks to a Top - 10 national ranking and to an Aloha Bowl victory over UCLA . Also as a senior at KU , he won honors as an Academic All - American . Prior to playing for KU , Simmons was a punter and QB for Dodge City Community College . In 1992 at Dodge City , he led the nation ’ s junior colleges in punting and was a first - team NJCAA All - American . Simmons began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Kansas in 1996 . He moved to the University of Minnesota in 1997 before joining the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens in 1998 . Private life . Simmons earned a degree in sports management from the University of Kansas in 1996 . He graduated from Elkhart High School in 1991 . He and his wife , Rhonda , have one daughter and two sons . Playing and coaching history . 1991 – 92 Played quarterback and punter at Dodge City Community College . 1993 – 95 : Punter , University of Kansas . 1996 : Graduate assistant coach , University of Kansas . 1997 : Assistant coach ( AC ) , University of Minnesota . 1998 : AC , Baltimore Ravens . 1999 – 2002 : AC , Carolina Panthers . 2003 – present : AC , Bengals .