As the head equipment manager, Dan Simmons is responsible for the endless list of details that goes into filling the team's needs, including the purchase, upkeep and repair of all equipment and uniforms for the players and coaches, the transportation of that equipment for road trips and the daily practice field arrangement.

Simmons is also the club’s longest-tenured employee and now in his fourth decade with the Saints. Known to all at the team's training facility as “Chief,” he was honored by the organization for his 30th season with the club in 2002, becoming only the second employee to reach the milestone since the team's founding in 1967. He was hired for his current position April 1, 1973.

Following the 2005 season, Simmons and his staff were selected in a vote by their peers for the Whitey Zimmerman Memorial Award, annually given to the NFL equipment staff that exceeds the usual demands of the position. Simmons and his staff was also the first recipient of the award in 1994. In 2010, he was elected into the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame.

In 2005, the equipment staff overcame extraordinary challenges in the forced evacuation from New Orleans because of Hurricane Katrina. After departing New Orleans, the club's base of operation moved three times, including a last stop at a high school baseball stadium. The equipment staff made those moves nearly seamless for the team, and with four home games in Baton Rouge, nearly every contest demanded the packing and preparation of a road game.

Dedication to an NFL team runs in his blood. His father, Bill, held a similar post with the St. Louis Cardinals for 22 years. Dan joined the Saints after working with his father and is a graduate of Meramec College in St. Louis. A Vietnam veteran, Simmons served four years in the Navy. He and his wife, Elaine, have three children – Tracy, Tony and Amy – and four grandchildren.