New Orleans’ saints cry the loss of the longtime equipment manager Dan Simmons after his death at the age of 78 last week.
Simmons, who was affectionately known as the “chef” of New Orleans, spent more than half a century with the saints after joining for the first time as equipment manager in 1973.
After winning this role for 42 years amazing, the native of St. Louis and Vétéran du Vietnam retired in 2014 and took a new position as coordinator of former and legends, in which he remained until his death on Friday.
“Our thoughts are with Elaine and the Simmons family because we have suffered a significant loss with the death of Dan,” the saints said in a statement. “He played an essential role in the daily operations of the equipment room and changing rooms.
“Dan was a proud Saint of New Orleans and touched the lives of thousands of players, coaches and staff members throughout his mandate, making important contributions to this franchise. We will miss a lot.
During more than 50 years with the team, Simmons was on site for a total of 858 holy pre-season and NFL lights.
New Orleans’ saints cry the loss of the longtime equipment manager Dan Simmons
Simmons, who spent over 50 years with the team, died at the age of 78 Friday
He witnessed a triumph of the Super Bowl while he was chief equipment director in 2009, when Sean Payton’s men beat the Indianapolis colts in Florida to win the first and the only franchise championship.
In 2010, four years before his retirement, Simmons was inducted into the temple of renown of the saints. He and his staff also won the Whitey Zimmerman Memorial Award, awarded each year to the NFL equipment staff who go beyond the usual requests to the position, twice.
In 2015, the Saints Hero even received the Lifetime Achievement Prize at the meeting of NFL equipment managers.
“Dan was the best,” said New Orleans legend Archie Manning. “If I was going to summarize Dan, it was kindness. A person so humble and friendly.
“If everyone in the organization of saints could have done their job like Dan, we would have won many more championships.”
The old offensive platform Stan Brock, who considered Simmons as a paternal figure after having formed a close link in New Orleans, “said:” I loved this guy. When I was inducted at the temple of renown of the saints, that’s what I wanted, Dan and (former coach) Dean Kleinschmidt were my presenters. He meant a lot for many people, but really for me.
“He was so much cared for us as players. He was very proud to be with the saints and do things the right way.
“We were all like small children. He played a lot of different roles. He was a friend and a father. It would kick you in the A ** when you need it and hit your back when you needed it too.