James Augustine Skipper (born January 23, 1949) 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 who was best known for being the

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

s coach for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for 15 years (over two separate stretches). He was also the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

for three years, starting in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

Early years

A native of Brawley, California, Skipper was an all-conference selection at Imperial Valley College, where he led the league in kickoff returns. He then transferred to Whittier College, where he played defensive back and he paced the conference in punt returns during his career. Skipper holds a B.A. degree in physical education from Whittier.

Coaching career

Skipper began his coaching career at

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona California State Polytechnic University Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) is a Public university, public Institute of Technology (United States)#Polytechnic universities, polytechnic research university in Pomona, California, United States. It is the l ...

, where he coached the defensive backs from 1974-1976. After coaching the defensive backs for two seasons at

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

, Skipper moved to the offensive side of the ball, coaching the running backs at University of the Pacific in 1979. He then went on to coach the running backs at

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

from 1980-1982 before he made the jump to the professional ranks. Skipper started his professional coaching career with the

Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars The Philadelphia / Baltimore Stars were a professional American football team which played in the United States Football League (USFL) in the mid-1980s. Owned by real-estate magnate Myles Tanenbaum, they were the short-lived league's dominant ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

from 1983-1985. He then moved on to the

with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

- serving under Jim Mora in both roles. Starting in 1986, Skipper served as the running back coach till 1995. During his 10-year tenure with New Orleans, Skipper coached two

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

ers, Rueben Mayes in 1986 and 1987 and Dalton Hilliard in 1989. Mayes' 1,353 yards in 1986 and Hilliard's 1,262 in 1989 still stand among the 10 highest single-season rushing totals in Saints history. Skipper took the head coaching role for the San Francisco Demons of the original incarnation of the XFL in 2001. He led the Demons to a 6-6 record and an appearance in the only Million Dollar Game would ever hold, won by

Los Angeles Xtreme The Los Angeles Xtreme was a professional American football team based in Los Angeles, California. The team was a member of the original version of the XFL (2001), XFL, begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major ...

38-6. Skipper became the running backs coach for the

since 2002. In 2009, Skipper helped make NFL history as two of his running backs, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, became the first set of teammates ever to rush for over 1,100 yards in the same season. He was announced as the running backs coach for the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

on February 18, 2011. He returned to the

coaching staff in 2013, coaching running backs. In the 2015 season, Skipper and the Panthers reached Super Bowl 50 on February 7, 2016. The Panthers fell to the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

by a score of 24–10. After the 2018 season, Skipper announced his retirement from coaching.

Personal

He has two sons, who are also football coaches: Tim Skipper, currently the interim head coach at Fresno State and Kelly Skipper, currently the running backs coach for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

Head coaching record

XFL

Pro Bowl running backs under Jim Skipper

* Rueben Mayes- 1986 & 1987 * Dalton Hilliard- 1989 * Larry Centers- 1996 * Stephen Davis- 2003 * DeAngelo Williams- 2009 * Mike Tolbert- 2013, 2015 & 2016 * Jonathan Stewart- 2015

1,000 yard rushers under Jim Skipper

* Rueben Mayes- 1986 * Dalton Hilliard- 1989 * Gary Brown- 1998 * Tiki Barber- 2000 * Stephen Davis- 2003 * DeAngelo Williams- 2008 * Jonathan Stewart- 2009 * DeAngelo Williams- 2009 * Chris Johnson- 2011 & 2012 *

Christian McCaffrey Christian Jackson McCaffrey (born June 7, 1996) is an American professional American football, football running back for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal footbal ...

- 2018

References

External links

Carolina Panthers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skipper, Jim 1949 births Living people American football defensive backs Carolina Panthers coaches New Orleans Saints coaches New York Giants coaches Oregon Ducks football coaches San Jose State Spartans football coaches Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars coaches San Francisco Demons coaches Whittier Poets football players People from Breaux Bridge, Louisiana People from Brawley, California Players of American football from Imperial County, California Players of American football from Louisiana Tennessee Titans coaches Pacific Tigers football coaches Cal Poly Pomona Broncos football coaches