Memphis coaching candidate to know: Jerry Mack

After Ryan Silverfield left Memphis to become the head coach at Arkansas, the Tigers are looking for a new head coach, and a handful of names have emerged as early names to know. One of the more popular names is Jerry Mack, the current head coach at Kennesaw State.

Mack, a Memphis native, has coached college football since 2004, but he just wrapped up his first season as a head coach at the FBS level. Mack led Kennesaw State to a  9-3 record, including a 7-1 conference record, and his team is set to play Jacksonville State in the Conference USA championship game next weekend. 

Kennesaw State has been one of the stories of the 2025 season because of the turnaround under coach Mack. The Memphis native took over a team that finished last season 2-10, and his team earned bowl eligibility just eight games into his first year.

While this is his first stint as a head coach in the FBS ranks, Mack has plenty of experience as a head coach. He spent four seasons as North Carolina Central’s head coach at the FCS level, leading the Eagles to three straight No. 1 finishes in the MEAC.

While he has spent five seasons as a head coach, Mack has roamed the sidelines for 11 different teams, including his head coaching stints, and he has coached for Rice, Tennessee and in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Mack spent three seasons as the offensive coordinator at Rice, three years as Tennessee’s running backs coach and a season as the Jaguars’ running backs coach.

Before joining the Tennessee coaching staff, Rice posted the eighth best scoring offense in the C-USA with Mack serving as the offensive coordinator, which was the highest finish since 2015.

Mack left Rice to take his first Power Five job at Tennessee and worked with the running backs for three years. While at Tennessee, Mack coached Jabari Small, Dylan Sampson and Jaylen Wright, who ran for more than 1,000 yards in the 2023 season.

Mack also spent 2011 as the wide receivers coach at Memphis.

While he might not be as proven as some would like, Mack brings head coaching experience, and has won in both stints The Memphis native also has strong ties to the city and would likely find a lot of success recruiting local prospects immediately.