Jordan Culver | Tallahassee Democrat

A source close to Florida A&M's athletic department confirmed to the Tallahassee Democrat the football team's next head coach will be Prairie View A&M head coach Willie Simmons.

Simmons, 37, has been at the helm of Prairie View A&M for the last three seasons and has compiled a 21-11 record with the Panthers. Praised for overseeing strong offenses, Simmons has put together winning seasons in each of his three years as a head coach.

Before being hired at Prairie View, he was the offensive coordinator at Alcorn State. In 2014, Alcorn State won the Southwestern Athletic Conference title and were No. 2 in the FCS in scoring (44 points per game) with Simmons as the team's offensive coordinator.

The Panthers went 6-5 last season. The Panther's were third in the SWAC in scoring offense (30 points per game) and second in total offense (424.2 yards per game).

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Simmons was born in Tallahassee and attended James A. Shanks in Quincy.

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Simmons was on FAMU's football team as a quarterback for a few practices in 2003 after he transferred from Clemson. He was denied a waiver from the NCAA to play, as FAMU was trying to become a 1-A (now FBS) program at the time.

He only had one season of eligibility left, so transferred to the Citadel. In one season (12 games) for the Bulldogs, he threw for 1,864 yards, 13 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Prairie View A&M in 2016 unveiled a new $61 million football stadium. The Rattlers are still battling issues with Bragg Memorial Stadium, and haven't upgraded the Galimore-Powell Field House in decades.

Another source said an announcement could come as soon as Friday.

Mark Berman, sports director at Fox 26 in Houston, is reporting Simmons is "seriously considering" becoming FAMU's next coach.