Derek Jones is an American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

coach and former professional player. Jones is currently the

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

s coach for

Virginia Tech Hokies football The Virginia Tech Hokies football team represents Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the sport of American football. The Hokies compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ...

, serving under first-year head coach

Brent Pry Brenton James Pry (born April 1, 1970) is an American football coach and former player who is currently the head coach at Virginia Tech. He previously served as the defensive coordinator at Penn State from 2016 to 2021. He played college football ...

. He played cornerback in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) and

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

(AFL).

Early life

Jones was born in Woodruff, South Carolina. He later earned a degree in

Public Administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...

from Ole Miss, where he also played as a

. Jones also played in the

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

for the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

and the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

. Jones played in the

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

for the Nashville Kats.

Coaching career

Assistant coaching career

A coaching veteran, Jones has been an assistant coach at numerous stops and has worked under several head coaches, including David Cutcliffe at Duke and Ole Miss, Tommy West at Memphis,

Steve Kragthorpe Steven Jon Kragthorpe (born April 28, 1965) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently an administrative assistant for the Louisiana State University football program after previously serving as quarterbacks coach for the T ...

at Tulsa,

Joe Pannunzio Joseph Thomas Pannunzio (born July 4, 1959) is an American football coach for the Philadelphia Eagles. He is a former player and executive. He served as head football coach at Murray State University (MSU) from 2000 to 2005, compiling an overall ...

at Murray State, and, most recently, Matt Wells at Texas Tech.

Virginia Tech

During December 2021, Coach

announced that Jones would be joining his new staff as a defensive assistant at Virginia Tech.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Derek Living people Ole Miss Rebels football players Toronto Argonauts players Edmonton Elks players Nashville Kats players Ole Miss Rebels football coaches Murray State Racers football coaches Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football coaches Tulsa Golden Hurricane football coaches Memphis Tigers football coaches Duke Blue Devils football coaches Texas Tech Red Raiders football coaches Virginia Tech Hokies football coaches Year of birth missing (living people) People from Woodruff, South Carolina