Pete Jenkins (born August 27, 1941) is a former American football coach and player. His coaching career spanned a 54-year period from 1964 to 2017 at the high school, college and professional level. Having mentored numerous NFL and college defensive line coaches, Jenkins is credited with revolutionizing the way the position is taught and coached and revered as one of the greatest defensive line coaches in football history. He spent a total of 22 seasons in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and three in the National Football League (NFL). Jenkins coached in 14 bowl games and was part of two NFL playoff team appreances. He also sent over 30 players that he coached in college to the NFL.

Playing career

Jenkins played football at Western Carolina University from 1961 to 1964.

Coaching career

High School coaching career

Jenkins began his coaching career in 1964 as an assistant coach at Warner Robins High School in Warner Robins, Georgia and was also an assistant coach at Baker High School in Columbus, Georgia. From 1967 to 1968, he was head coach at Phenix City High School in Phenix City, Alabama.

College coaching career

In 1968, Jenkins moved to the college coaching ranks as the defensive coordinator at

Troy State University Troy University is a public university in Troy, Alabama. It was founded in 1887 as Troy State Normal School within the Alabama State University System, and is now the flagship university of the Troy University System. Troy University is accredi ...

from 1968 to 1970. While at Troy State, the team won the 1968 NAIA Football National Championship. Jenkins then moved to the University of North Alabama and was defensive coordinator from 1971 to 1972. In 1973, Jenkins made the jump to NCAA Division I football as the defensive end coach at the University of South Carolina until 1974. From 1975 to 1977, Jenkins was the defensive coordinator at the University of Southern Mississippi and in 1978 became the defensive line coach at Oklahoma State University. In 1979, Jenkins became a coach in the Southeastern Conference for the first time as the defensive line coach at the University of Florida. In 1980, Jenkins moved to the university where he would spend the majority of his career. He became the defensive line coach and assistant head coach at Louisiana State University (LSU) from 1980 to 1981. For the 1982 season, he added the responsibility of being the defensive coordinator. From 1983 to 1986, he was the defensive line coach and some years the assistant head coach. Starting in 1987, he once again became defensive coordinator/defensive line coach through the 1989 season. In 1990, he was the defensive line coach/assistant head coach. From 1991 to 1995, Jenkins was the defensive line coach at

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

and at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

from 1996 to 1998. In 2000, LSU head coach Nick Saban brought Jenkins back as defensive line coach through the 2001 season. During the 2013 season, Jenkins was hired by interim head coach Ed Orgeron to coach the defensive line at

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

. From 2016 to 2017, Jenkins returned to LSU for the final time as the defensive line coach. He was spotted at the Alabama Crimson Tide's football practice on August, 7 2019.

Professional coaching career

For the 2007 season, Jenkins moved into professional football as the defensive line coach for the NFL Philadelphia Eagles. He coached the defensive line for the team through the 2009 season. The Eagles made the playoffs twice during Jenkins tenure as defensive line coach.

Personal life

Jenkins is married to the former Donna Reece and has two children, Jennifer and Jeff. He attended Hawkinsville High School in Hawkinsville, Georgia. After retiring from coaching full time in 2018, Jenkins continues to consult coaching staffs across the country. Jenkins also serves as an off-season trainer for Current NFL players as well as NFL Draft prospects.

References

External links

LSU Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Pete 1941 births Living people Auburn Tigers football coaches Florida Gators football coaches LSU Tigers football coaches Mississippi State Bulldogs football coaches North Alabama Lions football coaches Oklahoma State Cowboys football coaches Philadelphia Eagles coaches South Carolina Gamecocks football coaches Southern Miss Golden Eagles football coaches Troy Trojans football coaches USC Trojans football coaches Western Carolina Catamounts football players