Jim Heacock (born June 23, 1948) is a former

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

coach. He served as the head football coach at

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teachin ...

from 1988 to 1995, compiling a record of 37–49–2. In 1996, he became an assistant coach at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

and served as the

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

for the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, ...

from 2005 until his retirement following the 2011 season.

Coaching career

Heacock was an assistant coach at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

from 1983 to 1987. As the team prepared for its bowl game in 1987, Heacock accepted a job as the head football coach at

. At Illinois State, he employed future Ohio State head coach

Urban Meyer Urban Frank Meyer III (born July 10, 1964) is an American Sports commentator, sportscaster and former college football coach. He spent most of his coaching career at the collegiate level, having served as the head coach of the Bowling Green F ...

. In 1996, Heacock joined

's football coaching staff as the

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

coach. When head coach John Cooper was fired in 2001, Heacock was one of only three assistants retained by the new head coach,

Jim Tressel James Patrick Tressel (born December 5, 1952) is an American politician and retired college football coach who has served as the 67th lieutenant governor of Ohio since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, Tressel previously was the president ...

. Heacock won the

Broyles Award The Broyles Award is an annual award given to honor the best assistant coach in college football. First awarded in 1996, it was named after former University of Arkansas men's athletic director Frank Broyles. The award is presented in Little ...

, awarded to the nation's top assistant coach, in 2007. As of 2008, Heacock was the most senior member of the Ohio State coaching staff. Heacock was promoted to

in 2005. In his first year in that position, the Ohio State defense was ranked first in the nation in rush defense. The same year, the defense ranked fifth in the nation for fewest points allowed and for total defense. According to sportswriter Dennis Dodd, "Statistically, the 2007 unit was among the best finishing first nationally in scoring defense, total defense and pass defense". Heacock was awarded the

in 2007 as the top assistant coach in college football. Tressel remarked that "Heacock's defense has allowed this young Ohio State team to become a national contender." Heacock was more modest, claiming that "We're all just in this for the same reason. ... There are other assistants who do every bit as much as I do. I kind of get in the way."

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heacock, Jim 1948 births Living people Bowling Green Falcons football coaches Illinois State Redbirds football coaches Muskingum Fighting Muskies football coaches Muskingum Fighting Muskies football players Ohio State Buckeyes football coaches Washington Huskies football coaches High school football coaches in Ohio Sportspeople from Alliance, Ohio Players of American football from Stark County, Ohio