Joey Jones (American football)

Joseph Russell Jones (born October 29, 1962 in Mobile, Alabama) is an American college football coach who currently serves as the head coach of the University of South Alabama Jaguars.

Playing career
Jones is a graduate of Mobile's Murphy High School. He played college football for coach Bear Bryant at the University of Alabama. Jones lettered with the Tide from 1979 to 1983, graduating with a degree in business administration. As a wide receiver, he tallied 71 receptions, 1,386 yards and 15 touchdowns. He ranked third among Alabama's career touchdown receivers and seventh in career receiving yards. He was named All-SEC as a senior and chosen to participate in the Senior Bowl. He was a member of the University of Alabama’s All-Decade Team for the 1980s and played professionally with the Birmingham Stallions of the United States Football League and the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons.

Coaching career
In 1989, Jones took his first coaching job as an assistant coach on the Briarwood Christian School staff in Birmingham, Alabama. After two years at Briarwood, he took the job as head coach at Dora where he led his team to a 24–11 record over three seasons. In 1996, Jones was hired as the head coach at Mountain Brook High School. At Mountain Brook, he led his team to the 1996 Class 6A state championship game, four region titles, two semifinal appearances and three quarterfinal appearances. Jones went 101–27 over ten seasons in charge of the Spartans.

After compiling a .767 winning percentage as an Alabama high school coach, Jones was hired as the new head coach at Birmingham-Southern College where he led the team to a 3–7 record in its first season in Division III NCAA football in 2007. Jones was the first coach of the Panthers since 1939, when the football program was disbanded.

After only one season at BSC, Jones accepted the same position at the University of South Alabama in February 2008. He is the first coach for the Jaguars and will be in charge of creating the program. The team began play in 2009, with a full transition to the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I-A) by 2013 when they are due to join the Sunbelt Conference.

He compiled a 23–4 record in his first three seasons at South Alabama.

Honors
In 2011, Jones was chosen to be inducted into the Mobile Sports Hall of Fame.