Simoneaux Head Coach at CHS

By Woody Jenkins, Editor, Central City News — Catholic High head football coach David Simoneaux has been named Athletic Director for the Central Community School System and head football coach at Central High School.

He replaces Coach Sid Edwards, who has been head coach or Athletic Director since 2007.

Edwards is the winningest active head football coach in the Baton Rouge area and one of the winningest in the State of Louisiana.

Coach Sid is staying on with the Central school system, at least for awhile.  He will have as yet undesignated responsibilities, assisting with athletics.

Coach Simoneaux is no stranger to Central. He served as offensive coordinator here under former Central head coach Doug Dotson and Coach Sid.  Simoneaux started his football career at Parkview Baptist under Coach Kenny Guillot. 

Simoneaux was team captain and led the Eagles to their first state championship season in 2004.  They went undefeated, winning the title in the Superdome 40-0 over Notre Dame.

After college, he returned to Parkview and coached under Coach Guillot. “He was my mentor, the kind of human being I want to be. He cultivated a strong work ethic and led a model Christian life,” Simoneaux said.

At Central, he worked under Wildcats head coach Doug Dotson. “Coach Dotson had a work ethic second to none. He motivated kids to be their best.  He brought great energy and confidence to the program. He understood how to develop the student athlete and taught me how important it is to start working with kids when they are young.”

Simoneaux worked with Coach Sid for the 2011 through 2014 seasons. “Coach Sid is a master delegator. He surrounds himself with competent coaches and lets them do their jobs. He also calls the guys to service in their community.  He let all of us know, whether coaches or athletes, that we are here to serve, not be served.”

His head coach experience at Catholic of Pointe Coupee was very different. He was in charge!  “It’s a great community, and we had great community support.  People were starving for success!  It was a sweet spot in my career.”

After five years at Catholic of Pointe Coupee, Simoneaux was offered the head coaching position at Catholic High in Baton Rouge, one of the primer coaching positions in the state.

“At Catholic High, they give you the tools to be a success!  And they tie in faith, athletics, and academics. They have their values aligned, and those represent the values of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. I’m not Catholic, but that was never an issue at Catholic High. I developed close relationships with the priests.”

Coach Simoneaux won the State 5A championship at Catholic in 2021.

So why come to Central?

“Central is a sleeping giant! There is so much potential here. My years here were wonderful.  I love the toughness of the people and the blue collar mentality.”

“I coached with Brandon LaGroue (now principal at Central High). We were young teachers and coaches together. I have a lot of respect for him and Supt. Jason Fountain. We want to develop a world class football program here.”

“Like Catholic High of Pointe Coupee, people in Central are starving for success.”

So what is Coach Simoneaux’s plan for Central?

“We have to be very involved in the middle school.  We have the kids that we need.  But we have to develop them and offer a program where they will never leave.  Maximum development of the kids.  From age 6 to 12 we will help them develop their potential.  We will focus on nutrition, strength and conditioning, sports psychology, flexibility, and enhanced performance.  By the time they get to the high school, they will fit right in.”

Coach Simoneaux said he is already meeting with members of the staff and in fact is 3/4ths through the process. He’s finding out if coaches want to stay and if they are open to a role change. “We will search for the best talent and build a powerhouse.”

The new coach said he is also very interested in having a great track program and utilizing the new facilities the school will have.