Head coach Lincoln Riley announced Dennis Simmons has been promoted to the Sooners' assistant head coach and passing game coordinator in a press conference on Wednesday.
Simmons previously served as the outside receivers coach and associate head coach for Oklahoma.
"He's been tremendous," Riley said of Simmons. "His record speaks for himself and he’s absolutely one of the premier receivers coaches in the country. Him and coach (Cale) Gundy have done such a great job with our guys.
"For me, he’s certainly been a guy I can lean on. Somebody I’ve got a very close relationship with and certainly one of my most trusted confidants as far as the staff, and there are several, this staff is so good. But he’s just been fantastic and a huge key to our success."
Simmons was named OU's outside receivers coach in 2015 and was named associate head coach in 2019, the same year he was named a Top-25 recruiter by Rivals.
Prior to joining the Sooners, Simmons previously worked alongside Riley at Texas Tech in 2008 and at East Carolina in 2010. The two were both hired at Oklahoma less than a month apart.
"Lincoln and I actually always had a mutual respect for each other and a good relationship," Simmons said on Wednesday. "(When) we got to East Carolina, both of us had never lived in the state of North Carolina. A lot of times you'd leave work and work carried home. We ended up hanging out with each other, getting to know each other better and develop a friendship that strengthened (our bond) even more."
The two coaches' bond paid off for the Sooners. Since Simmons' arrival, Oklahoma ranks first nationally in scoring-per-game, passing efficiency rating and yards per-pass-attempt. OU's offense led the nation in total offense in 2017 and 2018, where it averaged roughly 580 and 570 yards-per-game in both seasons, respectively.
Also during his time at Oklahoma, Simmons has coached the likes of Sterling Shepard, Dede Westbrook, Marquise Brown and CeeDee Lamb, all of whom have went on to have playing stints in the NFL.
Simmons' resume hints at a possible head coaching job of his own down the line, but that's not his goal at the moment. For right now, Simmons is focused on staying in Norman.
"Right now, my aspiration is just to be the best receiver coach at the University of Oklahoma that I possibly can," he said. "In doing that, I'm a firm believer that God puts opportunities in your life at a particular time for a particular reason when you're ready.
"I feel like when that opportunity presents itself that I will be ready for it. And I don't want to just be given that opportunity because my skin color, I want to get because someone feels like I deserve that opportunity and that I'm worthy of it."
