Sims and
Singletary reuniteA former UH lineman and assistant
coach are invited to Chargers' camp
Business remains big. But will Business boom in San Diego this fall?
Hawaii defensive line coach Vantz Singletary finds out for himself next month, when he reunites with Doug Sims and the San Diego Chargers for his sixth NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship internship.
When Singletary coached Sims at UH, the oversized defensive tackle showed promise, but also a distinct lack of consistent conditioning.
"We called him 'Big Business,' " Singletary said. "Sometimes he was a beast and played like an All-American and he could be great for three or four plays. But sometimes he had no business being on the field."
Sims, 23, said he wants to shed about 10 pounds from the 340 on his 6-foot-3 frame. He looks forward to the Chargers' June 1-9 minicamp and reuniting with Singletary, his position coach from 1999 and 2000 at UH.
"He told me about it last week, so I've been looking forward to it," said Sims, who was in on 57 tackles in 24 UH games. "I'm juiced up to see him, I want to show him where I'm at now. It's a good opportunity for both of us."
Sims was picked up by the Chargers last year, but dislocated an ankle in training camp and spent the year on injured reserve.
"I think I showed them I could help them at some point, so they kept me around," he said.
In 2001 he was signed as a free agent by Seattle. He was released, but Washington signed him and he spent the season on the Redskins practice squad.
Now Sims is one of six defensive tackles on the Chargers' current 62-player roster. San Diego did not draft any defensive tackles.
"There will still be a lot of competition," he said. "Even though I showed some good things, there are no guarantees. My goal is to beat out a couple guys and get in the starting rotation."
As for Singletary, the fifth-year UH assistant is interning with the Chargers for the second time. He has also been a student coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals and Houston Texans.
In addition to the minicamp next month, Singletary will participate in San Diego's July 5-Aug. 5 training camp. UH has not decided if it will start its fall camp on Aug. 5 or Aug. 8. Singletary said he will leave the Chargers early to be back in time.