It's funny that the only people really defending Simmons are his current or former athletes and possibly himself. It's a pretty good bet that he has been posting on here too.
Simmons is obviously a decent coach as far as a basic understanding of training. His athletes run fast.
But I was talking with a coach about this situation today. One of the things that came up was that VIC is in an incredibly weak region. VIC doesn't have to peak mentally or physically for Regionals, which is a huge advantage in terms of training for and racing at Nationals. Not saying this is the entire reason for his success at Nationals, but it is a huge advantage over a lot of teams.
The other major issue is the number of his athletes that have not been eligible at any other NAIA school they were being recruited by, but go to VIC and are instantly eligible. He has "signed" a lot of already very talented runners who couldn't go anywhere else. It sure helps your program when you are the only one who can give guys the opportunity to compete. And rumors, which I'm not saying are true, have always been that many of the VIC runners are propped up academically. Based on the posts so many of the VIC runners have put up on this board over the past three years I would say it isn't hard to believe that they may not be eligible at any other school.
Some of his success has come with internationals. Not full teams of internationals, but significant enough, especially when combined with the academically questionable talent previously mentioned.
I personally know of a situation in which he tried to recruit a signifant runner from another team. There are rumors of other instances of this, although I can only speak to the one. This is an absolute example of lack of character. It is against the rules to recruit another schools athlete, and is a clear example of where he stands ethically.
The bottom line is that the evidence strongly suggests that Simmons either flat-out cheats or pushes the line to the limit. In my opinion, he cheats. It has nothing to do with winning to me. I don't have a problem that his teams are good. Personally, I like seeing teams excel as it promotes the sport and forces other teams to raise their own standards to compete. National Championships are great, but if you are playing with a different set of rules than everyone else, especially at the NAIA level, you have some huge advantages. Cheating can make a good coach look great.
I don't think he could make it at the NCAA level, especially not at DI. I doubt he is that good of a coach, he would not get away with the same stuff he has at the NAIA level, and he has never developed a women's program. Plus, I don't see anyone who has any knowledge of his character taking a chance on him for the sport of cross country and track. There are basketball and football coaches that some school will take a chance on, but they are "top of the sport" coaches, and they are big money sports. Why would any NCAA school take a chance on a guy who might get their athletic department in trouble? And on top of it a guy who disregarded the rules and procedures of his current (now former) school.
And on that last point, maybe his intentions were good and he wanted to help his athletes. Maybe he wanted to stick it to VIC. Maybe he was thinking about himself and his own chance to enjoy more coaching success, something that cannot be done if you don't have a team at nationals. Only Simmons really knows. But while his true intention cannot be discerned, his actions can be. He demonstrated that the rules are not important to him. His own rules are what are important. His desires rule. Someone mentioned that a future potential employer might see him as a renegade. Isn't that exactly what he is? Whether it is the things mentioned in this and other posts, or his last act of going around his own schools administration, the evidence strongly points to someone who doesn't feel a need to follow rules and puts himself or his program (as an extension of himself), first.
If the program were legit, I would feel bad for them. If Simmons had a history of being a moral and ethical person, I would feel bad for him. From what I know though, it is really hard to feel bad for VIC or Simmons.