What Others Say About Jerry Simmons:
Jeff Hundley, Chief Operating Officer - Allstate Sugar Bowl:"Jerry Simmons has long been one of the preeminent personalities in collegiate tennis, providing leadership and insight at all levels. His numerous collegiate accomplishments and his long-running involvement with junior tennis are well documented and unsurpassed. Known for his charismatic and hard-charging style, Jerry Simmons is a true Hall of Famer."
Joe Dean, LSU Athletic Director 1987 - 2001:
"Coaching at this level is very difficult. It's competitive. It doesn't matter if it's (played) in front of 500 people or 80,000, what he has done is a magnificent job and I hate to see him leave. He will be hard to replace."
Skip Bertman, LSU Athletic Director and runner-up "College Baseball Coach of the Century 1900 - 1999", winner 5 World Series Championships, and guided LSU to #2 All Sports Ranking:
"Jerry Simmons is the best at his sport."
Dick Gould, Former Stanford Coach with 17 National Titles, 1900-1999 "College Coach of the Century":
"Every time you faced a Jerry Simmons-coached team, you were in for the fight of your life. He's also one of the great promoters of college tennis. Jerry was one of the first ones to take an aggressive role in promoting and marketing college tennis and the sport is much better for it."
Gerry Dinardo, LSU Head Football Coach 1996, National Offensive Coach of the Year at Colorado, Head Coach at Vanderbilt, LSU and Indiana, Current ESPN Talk Radio host:
"What Jerry has done, the amount of wins, where he's been, how long he's done it, is nothing short of genius. He has withstood the test of time. His ability to coach and motivate generation after generation will go down in history with all of the great coaches."
Mike Center, University of Texas at Austin Head Men's Tennis Coach. Led the Longhorns to the 2008 NCAA Final and the Big 12 Championship. Named USPTA National College Coach of the Year:
"Coach Simmons has truly done it all in the world of tennis. He has been a terrific ambassador, promotor, and championship coach. His style is to be more prepared than his opponent. If you want to be around someone with great discipline and work ethic then Coach Simmons is the guy for you! Every time I meet with him I feel I learn something new."
Dan Magill, Former Georgia Tennis Coach, winner of 2 National Championships, Former National Coach of the Year and College Tennis Hall of Famer, and curator of the College Tennis Hall of Fame:
"You always knew that when you were facing one of his teams that it would be a well-coached, highly competitive team. He is as serious and intense a coach as I have seen. He's a tough competitor, and his teams always took on his personality. He helped turn LSU not only into a conference power but a national power and he is one of the people that helped put the SEC on the map as a tennis conference."
Pete Jenkins, Defensive Line Coach Philadelphia Eagles, Defensive Line Coach LSU, Nick Saban, Jackie Sherrill Mississippi State, Terry Bowden Auburn, Bill Arnsparger LSU:
"Coach Simmons' players were as tough mentally and as well conditioned as any athlete in any sport I have ever seen. He did not play college tennis as we know it. He played "war tennis." They were tough guys.
Scott Luster, Former LSU Volleyball Coach, Two Time LSU NCAA Final Four, Member of College Volleyball Hall of Fame:
"I've talked to a lot of coaches in airports and places, other tennis coaches, and they always say the one thing about Jerry Simmons' teams is they are always physically almost superior to any team. He trains them and disciplines them. He may get more out of his players than any coach in the country. He takes raw talent and makes them good players, and takes very good players and makes them great players."