MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama head football coach Joey Jones completed his first coaching staff Thursday, hiring Greg Gregory as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach and Tommy Perry as running backs coach and special teams coordinator.
The additions come as the Jaguars prepare for the first spring practice in program history, set to begin Monday, March 9.
Greg Gregory
Gregory brings 15 years of experience as an offensive coordinator at four schools, along with two seasons as a college head coach. He spent the past two seasons as offensive coordinator at South Florida, where the Bulls went 17-9 and won the inaugural St. Petersburg Bowl this past season.
Under Gregory, South Florida quarterback Matt Grothe ranked among the top 30 players nationally in total offense in each of the last two seasons. In 2007, running backs Mike Ford and Ben Williams combined for 18 touchdowns, and the Bulls set program records with 5,383 yards of total offense, 414.1 yards per game and 34.7 points per game. Before becoming coordinator, Gregory coached South Florida’s tight ends for two seasons, helping the Bulls reach the Meineke Car Care Bowl and the Papajohns.com Bowl.
Gregory was offensive coordinator at Ohio from 2001 to 2003. Before that, he was offensive coordinator at Richmond, where the Spiders won the Atlantic 10 championship with a 7-1 league record and finished 10-3 overall. He was head coach at Missouri Southern in 1998 and 1999, taking over a program that had forfeited all of its victories from the previous season.
Gregory spent 16 seasons at Army. He began as a receivers coach in 1982, coached tight ends and the junior varsity in 1984, running backs in 1985 and 1986 and quarterbacks beginning in 1987. He became offensive coordinator in 1989 and added the title of associate head coach in 1991. During his tenure, Army won 93 games, played in four bowl games and went 10-6 against Navy. Among the quarterbacks he coached was Ron McAda, who was selected in the NFL draft. Gregory also served as a commissioned officer with the rank of captain from 1982 to 1985.
“Greg wants to be a part of something new, and he brings a wealth of experience. He’s an excellent football coach that I’m excited to bring to USA,” Jones said. “South Florida has built their football program from scratch and we are modeling a lot of the things we do based on what they have done.”
“It’s always been a goal of mine to be part of a program that is starting from scratch,” Gregory said. “This is a great opportunity — USA is in a hotbed of football from a recruiting standpoint and the athletic director is fully behind the program.”
Tommy Perry
Perry spent the last three seasons in a variety of roles on the Alabama staff under Mike Shula and Nick Saban. In 2008, Alabama went 12-0 in the regular season before losing in the SEC Championship Game and the Sugar Bowl, finishing 12-2 and ranked sixth nationally.
Perry began his coaching career at Texas in 2004 as an assistant strength and conditioning coach and academic advisor. Later that year, he moved to Texas A&M-Commerce as a linebackers and strength coach, and in 2005 he took over the running backs and kickoff return unit. Three of his running backs earned All-Lone Star Conference honors that season, including a first-team selection who ran for more than 1,000 yards in 10 games. Perry also helped recruit Northeast Texas and Northern California for the Lions.
In 2006, Perry was a special teams assistant and head strength coach for the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe, who went 7-3 and played in the World Bowl.
Perry played at Texas A&M after transferring from Tyler Junior College, where he was an inside linebacker. He lettered for the Aggies, playing fullback, inside linebacker and defensive end as well as on special teams, and was one of four players to serve as the program’s 12th Man as a senior. He graduated from Texas A&M in 2003.
“There’s a lot of energy here in Mobile, everyone I have talked to knows about the program and is excited about it,” Perry said. “The Mobile area and the Florida Panhandle have a lot of talented players, and there is a lot of momentum behind the program. I’m excited to be a part of this process.”
“I think Tommy gained valuable experience working under Nick Saban,” Jones said. “We expect that he will be able to contribute a lot of things to USA football based on the knowledge that he has gained and things he has seen working at Alabama.”
Building a New Program
South Alabama is building its football program from the ground up, with play scheduled to begin in the fall of 2009 and home games at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Jones, a former Alabama receiver, was hired as the program’s first head coach. The Jaguars open spring drills March 9.
