The Jacksonville Jaguars appear ready to hire former HBCU head coach and Tennessee University assistant Jerry Mack.
Mack is reportedly close to finalizing a deal that would see him join the Jacksonville Jaguars as an assistant to Press Taylor under head coach Doug Pederson, according to Football Scoop.
Mack has spent the last three seasons as an assistant at Tennessee under head coach Josh Heupel. He came to Tennessee from Rice, where he was the offensive coordinator from 2018 through 2020 after a successful stint as a head coach at North Carolina Central.
Jerry Mack was just 33 years old when NCCU hired him to take over its fledgling Division I program in 2013. All he did was lead NCCU to a 31-15 record in four seasons, winning at least a share of the MEAC title in each of his first three seasons (though two of those would later be vacated due to APR violations). The highlight of his stint in Durham was the 2016 season when NCCU won the MEAC outright, earning a bid to the Celebration Bowl. NCCU would lose in a heart-breaker to Grambling and finish 9-3, but it was clear that Mack had already left his legacy on the school.
His final season in Durham was solid, but didn’t culminate in a championship. But being young and already having worked in the FBS in his background, Mack had options. And following the 2017 season, he made the move to Rice, giving up a coveted position as a head coach to be an assistant.
“I think the program is at a great place,” Mack said at the time. “It’s set up for success and I think this was a great time to leave. I think it’s in a better situation than when we found it. That was my job and I hope I pleased people by doing what they hired me to do and I see nothing but success from here for that program.”
His son, Jaden Mack, was a part of the 2022 North Carolina Central team that won the Celebration Bowl and HBCU national title.
Jerry Mack will soon be taking his talents to football’s highest level once negotiations with the Jacksonville Jaguars are complete.