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Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
Jacksonville State is hiring Auburn co-defensive coordinator Charles Kelly, a former Gamecocks assistant, as its new football coach, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Friday.
Kelly informed Tigers coach Hugh Freeze that he was offered the Jacksonville State job and is accepting it, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Chris Low.
Kelly, 57, replaces Rich Rodriguez, who left Dec. 12 to return to West Virginia for a second stint as its head coach, having previously led the Mountaineers from 2001 to 2007.
Rodriguez led the Gamecocks to an 18-8 record in their first two seasons as an FBS team. They lost to Ohio 30-27 in Friday’s StaffDNA Cure Bowl in Orlando, Florida. Offensive coordinator Rod Smith served as the interim coach.
Kelly is returning to Jacksonville State more than a quarter-century after he served in various roles on coaching staffs under Bill Burgess and Mike Williams. Kelly worked as running backs coach in 1994, defensive backs coach in 1995, offensive coordinator in 1996 and defensive coordinator in 1997-98, when the Gamecocks competed at the FCS level.
It will be Kelly’s first head coaching job at the college level. He previously worked as an assistant coach or coordinator at Georgia Tech, Florida State, Tennessee, Alabama and Colorado before serving as co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Auburn this past season.
The Auburn defense, led by Kelly and co-defensive coordinator DJ Durkin, finished seventh in the SEC in total defense (330.8 yards) and ninth in scoring defense (21.3 points) this year.
Kelly spent the 2023 season working as Deion Sanders’ defensive coordinator at Colorado, but left after one year to return to Auburn, his alma mater. For the previous four seasons, Kelly worked as Alabama’s associate defensive coordinator and safeties coach under Nick Saban.
Kelly was part of coaching staffs that captured national titles at Florida State in 2013 and Alabama in 2020.