SmashMouth

Following 42 years of service to the New Orleans Saints as the club’s head equipment manager, Dan Simmons will retire from the position and assume the post of alumni/legends development coordinator in the organization.

Simmons, the club’s longest tenured employee and in his fifth decade with the club, began working for the Saints in his current position on April 1, 1973. Known by the nickname “Chief”, he finished his 42nd season with the club in 2014, the only employee to reach the milestone since the club’s founding in 1967.

“I told Dan he was too young to retire,” said Owner Tom Benson. “I am glad though that he will get to spend more time with his family and even though he is retiring from the equipment department, we still have him on board handling our alumni. I don’t think in my sixty-plus years owning businesses that I have met someone as loyal and accountable as Dan has been to the New Orleans Saints. He is a very large part of our success.”

In his new position, Simmons will assist in the club’s outreach efforts to involve former players with the organization and also will be the club’s contact with the NFL’s Legends Program, which is designed to help former NFL players connect with each other, their former teams and the league.

“On behalf of the New Orleans Saints, we would like to thank Dan for his service, his loyalty and his countless contributions to our team for the last 42 years,” said Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis. “Chief has been an integral part of our organization and will continue to do so in his new capacity, where he will lead our club’s expanded efforts to connect with our former players. For that position, there is nobody better to handle that, considering Chief has come in contact with nearly every player who has ever put on a Saints uniform”

Simmons has worked a total of 858 Saints preseason, regular season and postseason games. He was proud to be a member of each of the franchise’s 10 playoff teams and celebrated the Saints’ Super Bowl XLIV Championship. During his Saints career as head equipment manager, he handled the equipment needs for thousands of players during the tenures of 14 of the franchise’s 16 head coaches.

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Euphoria

My first thought was what the heck is a Legend Coordinator and it couldn't possible be much of a job... I mean how many 'legends' have we had in our organization since the beginning, lol.

saintsfan1976

Oh my God!!

Why didn't we hear reports of his imminent decline before retiring??

Why didn't we make a trade when we could have at least got something for him??

UGH... who will be our next - oh - wait - this isn't another thread about Brees retiring?

Rugby Saint II

Benson has changed his attitude from the beginning when the Saints were treated like a used car lot.

WhoDat!656

Archie Manning's No. 8 was always No. 1 for retired Saints equipment manager Dan 'Chief' Simmons | NOLA.com

When Bum Phillips ignominiously traded Manning to the Houston Oilers in 1982, Manning met Simmons and longtime assistant Glennon "Silky" Powell in the parking lot of the Saints' training facility on David Drive in Metairie.

"It was emotional," Manning said. "I went out to my car and Chief and Silky brought me my shoes and other stuff, put it all in a big old garbage sack and brought it out to me. Leaving the facility was pretty tough. Ole Silky cried on me -- big time. As I was saying goodbye, I just kidded with Chief, 'Don't ever give that No. 8 to a punter.'"

"A Veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount of "up to and including my life."