The coaching tree continues to grow for former Alabama head coach Nick Saban despite his retirement. On Friday, former Alabama assistant defensive coordinator and safeties coach Charles Kelly was named the newest head coach at Jacksonville State University.
The news comes just weeks after Jacksonville State head coach Rich Rodriguez accepted the head coaching position at West Virginia.
Kelly is decorated coordinator and pristine recruiter in the southeast. Most recently, he served as the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Auburn. He was very instrumental in helping the Tigers land some of the state’s top prospects and was impactful in assembling one of the nation’s top overall recruiting classes.
Now, Kelly will leave his alma-mater for an ascending program a couple hours north. In 2024, the Gamecocks finished the regular season with a 8-4 record. In addition, Jacksonville State won the C-USA conference championship. Kelly has a great coaching lineage having coached at multiple SEC schools and has what it takes to be a successful coach at the FBS level.
It will be interesting to see if Kelly pursues any Alabama or Auburn transfers in the coming days, weeks, and months. As I noted previously, he is known for his recruiting prowess, especially in the state of Alabama.
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Brody Smoot is a team reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “follow” him on X, via @brodysmoot.
