Jeffery Simmons pledges to help Titans' next coach in this specific way

4 days ago 2

Coming off the best season of his seven-year NFL career, Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons doesn't want to change all too much.

But he's willing to make one major exception.

"My plan is to be here. Especially when the head coach gets here," Simmons told reporters on Jan. 5 on Titans locker room clean-out day. "I’m not going to promise to be here the whole offseason because I like my routine that I did last year. I’m going on Year 8 now. Last offseason I wanted to try something new and see how much better I could come into the season prepared and ready to play. I think I found my offseason plans, but my plan is to be here when the head coach gets here."

Simmons was absent for OTAs and much of the offseason program in spring 2025, opting to train his own way. The results — a slimmer and quicker player who still retained much of the power that made him one of the NFL's most productive defensive linemen — dazzled.

His 11 sacks registered as a career high and was the Titans' single-season record for a defensive tackle. His 17 TFLs register as the Titans' single-season record for a player at any position. He led all NFL defensive tackles in sacks, stops and rush win rate, and was second in total pressures generated.

With the Titans in transition, Simmons reiterated his position that he doesn't want to play anywhere else. He views his role on this team not just as a defensive disruptor, but as an internal unifier.

"I learned a lot this past offseason, how to lead," Simmons said. "Now it’s how you can keep getting better. That’s always the goal, to be a little bit better than yesterday. Now it’s how can I up my leadership a little bit? Because we’re going to need it. Especially with a new head coach coming in. He’s going to need my help to make sure whatever he’s preaching to the team, it gets spread across in the locker room."

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X @nicksuss. Subscribe to the Talkin’ Titans newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Jeffery Simmons pledges to help Titans' next coach in this specific way

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