FAMU football makes hires to finalize coaching staff for upcoming season
The Florida A&M Rattlers coaching staff is complete.
Head football coach Willie Simmons (54-23 overall, 33-12 at FAMU) announced the additions of Pat Watkins and Doc Gamble to his staff at Wednesday's 220 Quarterback Club luncheon.
Watkins, a Tallahassee native, will oversee the Rattlers' nickelbacks and replaces the retired Billy Rolle.
Watkins played football at Lincoln High School then defensive back for the Florida State Seminoles.
Following FSU, he was selected in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft to the Dallas Cowboys. Watkins had a five-year NFL career with the Cowboys and the San Diego Chargers.
Watkins also played professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL) where he was a three-time all-star (2012-2014) and won two Grey Cups with the Toronto Argonauts (2012) and Edmonton Eskimos (2015)
"It's an honor to be here and I'm grateful for the opportunity," Watkins said Wednesday. "It's a real honor to come back and give back to the community where I'm from.
"I look forward to working with Coach Simmons and bringing home a championship sooner than later."
Gamble is FAMU's new special teams coordinator, replacing Chili Davis, who departed to join NCAA Division I-FBS Kansas State's staff in June. Prior to FAMU, Gamble was briefly at Marshall as an offensive analyst coordinator of special projects, joining the Thundering Herd staff in May.
Gamble also was previously the head coach of fellow Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) team Arkansas-Pine Bluff, reaching the league's championship game during the COVID-impacted spring 2021 season. Gamble coached the Golden Lions for seven games last year, starting 2-5 before being relieved prior to playing at FAMU's homecoming.
Gamble and Simmons' connection goes back to when they both coached at Alcorn State in 2012. Simmons was the offensive coordinator and running backs coach while Gamble solely oversaw the running backs.
"It was an easy decision to come over here because I wanted to win a championship," Gamble, from Cincinnati said.
"I truly believe we can win with special units. We call it Special Forces. Coach allows me to go at it in a certain way, teach, and fine tune the techniques and fundamentals of it.
"And it's going to show."
The FAMU Rattlers will open their season against the defending SWAC champions Jackson State at the Denny's Orange Blossom Classic on Sunday, Sept. 3.
Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at Miami Garden's Hard Rock Stadium.
Gerald Thomas, III covers Florida A&M University Athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at gdthomas@gannett.com or on Twitter @3peatgee.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU Football: Rattlers make final hires to solidify 2023 coaching staff
