Former Florida State defensive coordinator Charles Kelly is expected to become Jacksonville State’s next head coach, per reports. Kelly was FSU’s linebackers coach and special teams coordinator in 2013 and the Seminoles’ defensive coordinator from 2014-17. He was fired in December 2017 following the Independence Bowl win over Southern Miss.
In Kelly’s final three years at FSU, the Seminoles had a top-25 defense, including the No. 18 ranking in 2017, after allowing only 331.1 total yards per game. FSU finished 22nd nationally in total defense in 2016 (349.1 yards per game) and his 2015 unit ranked ninth in scoring defense (17.8 ppg).
Kelly then went north to Knoxville, where he became the special teams coordinator and safeties coach for Tennessee in 2018. He was the assistant defensive coordinator and safeties coach for Alabama from 2019-22 and the DC for Colorado in 2023.
Moreover, Kelly served as an assistant for Jacksonville State on both sides of the ball from 1994-1998, including stints as both offensive and defensive coordinator. His latest stop was at Auburn, where he was the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach…