Joe Kines (born July 13, 1944) is a former

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 wi ...

player and coach. He spent most of his coaching career as an assistant in

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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

ranks, and twice serving as an interim head coach: in 1992 at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkans ...

after the firing of Jack Crowe after Arkansas's first game, and in 2006 at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publ ...

after the dismissal of Mike Shula where he also made his memorable halftime interview at the Independence Bowl.

Early life

Kines was born on July 13, 1944 in a

train car A railroad car, railcar ( American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is ...

that was en route from

Cedartown, Georgia Cedartown is a city and the county seat of Polk County, Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 10,190. Cedartown is the principal city of and is included in the Cedartown, Georgia Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is ...

to Piedmont, Alabama. He holds both bachelor's and master's degree's from

Jacksonville State University Jacksonville State University (JSU) is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's, master's, education specialist, and doctorate degrees ...

. Kines is married to the former Rubye Bell and they have one daughter, Susan Kines Langston, who was killed in a car crash on June 28, 2010 and two grandsons that survived the crash.

Coaching career

Kines began his coaching career at his alma mater, where he served as assistant coach and

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

through the 1976 season. In 1977, he received an offer to coach linebackers at

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enr ...

, where he coached for the next two seasons. In 1979, Kines became linebackers coach at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

under

Charley Pell Charles Byron Pell (February 17, 1941 – May 29, 2001) was an American college football player and coach. Pell was an Alabama native and an alumnus of the University of Alabama, where he played college football. He is most notably remembere ...

. There he spent two years as the linebackers coach, and was promoted to defensive coordinator in 1981. In 1985 and 1986, Kines was the defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach at the

before leaving with

Ray Perkins Walter Ray Perkins (November 6, 1941 – December 9, 2020) was an American football coach and player. He played as a wide receiver for the University of Alabama and Baltimore Colts. He later worked as a football coach for 28 years, including sti ...

to the NFL’s

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

. He served as the Buccaneers' linebacker coach from 1987 to 1990. Kines returned to college coaching in 1991 as the defensive coordinator at the

and was promoted to interim head coach of the Razorbacks in 1992 when Jack Crowe was fired following a season-opening loss to The Citadel. He guided the Razorbacks to a 45–7 victory over

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

in his first game after taking over for Crowe, and closed the season with a 30–6 rout of arch-rival LSU in the first game between the schools since the

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its namesake stadium in ...

following the 1965 season. Kines was Arkansas’ assistant head coach and defensive coordinator from 1993 to 1994 under Danny Ford before moving on to the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

, where he served as the Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator from 1995 to 1998 and as assistant head coach in 1999. He also coached the defensive ends while at Georgia. In 2000, Kines left Georgia to become linebackers coach at

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

under head coach

Bobby Bowden Robert Cleckler Bowden (; November 8, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was an American college football coach. Bowden coached the Florida State Seminoles of Florida State University (FSU) from 1976 to 2009 and is considered one of the greatest college ...

. Kines returned as defensive coordinator at the University of Alabama in 2003 and remained in that position until head coach Mike Shula was fired on November 27, 2006. In 2005, he was named a finalist for the Broyles Award, given annually to the nation's top college football assistant coach. Kines was named interim head coach and guided Alabama in the Independence Bowl where they lost to

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, ...

, 34–31. New Alabama head coach

Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. (; born October 31, 1951) is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007. Saban previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphi ...

did not retain any of Shula's staff; however, Kines was hired as an officer with Tide Pride, which is responsible for helping to fund scholarships, generating revenue for capital improvements, and supporting the "Million Dollar Band", among other activities. On February 13, 2008, Texas A&M head coach Mike Sherman hired Kines to be his defensive coordinator and assistant head coach. Kines initially did not show interest to the position, but after he exchanged words with Sherman in an interview, he accepted. Kines has called the Aggie defensive squad "awful, and that's being real polite" in the 2008 preseason. Aggie safeties coach

Van Malone Van Buren Malone (born July 1, 1970) is a former safety in the National Football League (NFL) and former defensive coordinator for the SMU Mustangs football team. He played his entire career from 1994–1997 with the Detroit Lions. He was previo ...

praised him as being a great communicator: "He's one of the greatest communicators I've ever been around, and if you can communicate with them, that's all these kids want." He won't say a cuss word, but when you're not doing it the way he wants it, you feel like you've been cursed out." Kines retired at the conclusion of the Aggies' 2009 season.

Head coaching record

* Jack Crowe coached the first game of the season. ** Mike Shula coached the first 12 games of the season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kines, Joe 1944 births Living people Alabama Crimson Tide football coaches Arkansas Razorbacks football coaches Clemson Tigers football coaches Florida Gators football coaches Florida State Seminoles football coaches Georgia Bulldogs football coaches Jacksonville State Gamecocks football coaches Jacksonville State Gamecocks football players People from the Anniston–Oxford metropolitan area Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches Texas A&M Aggies football coaches