The Jacksonville Jaguars have hired Brian Simmons and Jeff Gooch to the team's player personnel staff and realigned scouting duties within the department. Chris Driggers is moving from southwest regional scout to serve as a pro scout, Chris Prescott is going from the northeast regional scout to southwest regional scout, and Jason DesJarlais is moving from being the BLESTO representative to become the team's midwest regional scout.
Simmons, a veteran of 10 years in the NFL, will serve as the team's northeast regional scout. A former linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals and New Orleans Saints, Simmons attended the University of North Carolina, where he played from 1994 to '97 and was a first team All-America selection. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology in 1998.
Simmons, 33, was selected 17th overall in the 1998 college draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. He played nine seasons (1998-2006) with the Bengals before spending his final season with the New Orleans Saints in 2007. A native of New Bern, N.C., Simmons and his wife, Rachel, have a daughter Brianna, and a son, Tyler.
Gooch was hired as the Jaguars' BLESTO scout for the southeast. Prior to joining the Jaguars staff, Gooch did a training camp internship with the Jaguars scouting staff last year. Gooch, 34, played 10 seasons as a linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1996-2001, 2004-05) and Detroit Lions (2002-03). He began his NFL career as an undrafted rookie with the Buccaneers in 1996.
Gooch attended Austin Peay University, where he played from 1992-95. He graduated with a degree in business administration and is currently working on his master's degree at the University of Phoenix. A native of Nashville, Tenn., Gooch and his wife, Tonya, have a son, Dorien.
