Charlie Jackson (born November 4, 1976) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach. He is the assistant head coach and defensive backs coach at the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Uni ...

. Jackson served as the head football coach at

Kentucky State University Kentucky State University (KSU and KYSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Frankfort, Kentucky. Founded in 1886 as the State Normal School for Colored Persons ...

from 2019 to 2021. Jackson was an assistant coach for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) from 2017 to 2018. He served on the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

National Headquarters Enforcement Staff before joining the Falcons. Jackson's background includes multiple defensive coaching roles with the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

and

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

and coaching fellowships with the Falcons and

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arri ...

. He also served as a college scout for the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

. His collegiate experience includes

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Utah State Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

, Buffalo, and

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

Early life

Born in

Vienna, Georgia The city of Vienna () is the county seat of Dooly County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,011 at the 2010 census, up from 2,973 in 2000. Vienna is situated on the Flint River. It was established as Berrien in 1826. In 1833, its name ...

, Jackson is a 1995 academic honors graduate of Macon County High School in

Montezuma, Georgia Montezuma is a city in Macon County, Georgia ( ZIP code ''31063''). The population was 3,460 at the 2010 census, a decrease of 13.5% since 2000. It is home to the armory of Bravo Company, 648th Engineers of the Georgia Army National Guard. Histo ...

. As a football player at Macon County, he was named to the Georgia Academic All-State football team and many on the field accolades, including First Team All-State recognition and Georgia Class-A Football Defensive Player of the Year honors. He was named First Team All-Area by the Americus Times-Recorder, First Team All-Middle Georgia by the Macon Telegraph & News, and First Team All-State by the

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

and the Georgia Sports Writers Association.

College

Jackson accepted an appointment to the

, and he participated in football and indoor track and field as a student-athlete. One of his many football highlights was his sophomore season performance against the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

in 1997. In front of the largest crowd in Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium history, undefeated and #16 ranked Air Force traveled to Annapolis and defeated Navy 10-7. Jackson was named player of the game and subsequently conference player of the week. Following his senior football season, Jackson was selected by his teammates as a permanent team captain and recipient of Air Force football’s highest honor, the Brian Bullard Award, as the player who displays unselfishness, pride in his role, total team commitment, and 110 percent effort. Jackson helped Air Force become a consistent member of the Top 25 national rankings, including a Top 10 final ranking and conference championship in 1998. Coach Charlie Jackson and President Bill Clinton

Coach Charlie Jackson and President Bill Clinton

Coach Charlie Jackson and President Bill Clinton Handshake

Jackson earned a bachelor's degree in management from the

. He has a master's degree in management and sports studies from

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

Military service

Jackson was a Commissioned

Officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

and ascended to the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

while being stationed more than four years at

Tyndall Air Force Base Tyndall Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located east of Panama City, Florida. The base was named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lt. Frank Benjamin Tyndall. The base operating unit and host wing is the 325th Fighter Wing (325 ...

, Florida and

Los Angeles Air Force Base Los Angeles Air Force Base (LAAFB) is a United States Space Force Base located in El Segundo, California. Los Angeles Air Force Base houses and supports the headquarters of the United States Space Force's Space Systems Command (SSC), which ...

, California. His duties included serving as the U.S. Government point man in negotiations with three foreign government agencies in support of international treaty agreements

Coaching career

On February 17, 2017, Jackson was hired as an assistant coach with the

of the

(NFL). On February 1, 2019, Jackson was named head football coach at

. He is the winningest (percentage) head football coach at Kentucky State since 1945 (WWII) minimum 20 games. Jackson arrived at Kentucky State with the football program in the midst of a downward spiral that culminated in a 0-10 season in 2018. He took over a program on a 12-game losing streak and a record of 1-16 in the previous 17 games. In his first year leading the program in 2019, the team win total improved by seven games, the highest total win improvement in the country. His team posted victories over multiple Division 1 opponents for the first time in school history, and his team's 70 percent winning percentage (7-3) was the program's best in 41 years. After not competing in 2020 due to COVID-19, the next season produced more winning and the team's 14 win improvement over two seasons ranked #1. Jackson's team set many university records including points in an away game (76), points in a home game (63), total yards in a game (746), rush yards in a game (662), Division 1 victories, and most players with a 3.0 GPA or higher. Less than one month into his first season, Jackson had multiple historic victories including the 36th-annual Circle City Classic.

Professional organizations

Jackson is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). His professional associations include the

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

(AFCA),

NFL Coaches Association The National Football League Coaches Association (NFLCA) is a group of coaches in the National Football League (NFL). As of December 2021, the only coach not in the association was Bill Belichick. During the 2011 NFL Lockout, the NFLCA filed a br ...

(NFLCA),

National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) is a professional organization for college and university athletic directors in the United States. NACDA boasts a membership of more than 6,100 individuals and more than 1,600 ins ...

(NACDA), National Association of Athletics Compliance (NAAC), Minority Coaches Association of Georgia (MCAofGA), and the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA).

Head coaching record

References

External links

Kentucky State profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Charlie 1976 births Living people American football safeties Air Force Falcons football coaches Air Force Falcons football players Atlanta Falcons coaches Buffalo Bulls football coaches Denver Broncos coaches Green Bay Packers coaches Kentucky State Thorobreds football coaches Seattle Seahawks scouts Utah State Aggies football coaches California State University, Long Beach alumni People from Montezuma, Georgia People from Vienna, Georgia Coaches of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) African-American coaches of American football African-American players of American football 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople