After the departures of former strength and conditioning coaches Jamil Walker and Ed Ellis, Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart has hired UNC staffer Maurice Sims to join Scott Sinclair‘s staff, filling one of two vacancies.
Walker left earlier this month to become the head strength coach under former Georgia offensive line coach, and current Arkansas head coach, Sam Pittman. Ellis followed Walker to Fayetteville. Ellis was hired to join Smart’s staff in 2016 and had served directly behind Sinclair for the past four seasons.
Walker joined the Bulldogs before the 2017 season and spent three seasons under Sinclair. Prior to his time in Athens, Walker served as an assistant strength coach at Wisconsin where he played running back, as he was part of the winningest senior class in Badgers’ history
Smith only spent one season in Chapel Hill after joining the Tar Heels’ staff from Army.
Smith’s entire bio from GoHeels.com can be read below:
“Maurice Sims joined the North Carolina strength and conditioning staff as an assistant for football in 2019. Sims came to UNC after spending two seasons on the football strength and conditioning staff at Army (2017-19).”
“Prior to his time at Army, Sims served as the head sports performance coach at Stack Sports Performance and Therapy in Atlanta (2016-17). He performed assessments on athletes to develop training programs and implemented them. Sims also graded and critiqued athletes during their performance. “
“Sims spent 2014-15 season as a football assistant strength and conditioning coach at Indiana. He was the head of the operations for the development training program and assisted with the development and implementation of sport specific training programs.”
“Before Indiana, Sims spent two seasons at North Carolina A&T (2012-14) as an associate director of strength and conditioning. He worked with the basketball, baseball, softball and track and field programs, and assisted with football. Sims also worked at Bethune-Cookman from 2010-12 under mentor Medgar Harrison and worked with football, basketball, tennis and track and field.”
“Sims started his coaching career as a football strength intern at the University of Tennessee under the guidance of head strength and conditioning coach Ron McKeefery in 2010.“
“A Knoxville, Tenn. native, Sims earned his bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Tennessee-Chattanooga and his master’s degree in transformative leadership from Bethune-Cookman. He is certified through the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (SCCC) and National Strength and Conditioning Association (CSCS). Sims was an all-conference defensive back at Concord University prior to transferring to Tennessee-Chattanooga.”
Georgia still has one more spot to fill on Sinclair’s strength staff that is comprised of Sims, Ben Sowders, and Rodney Prince.