Jody Sears (born October 21, 1967) is an American
college football
College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
coach and former player. He was the interim
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
Nevada Wolf Pack. He previously served as the head coach at
Weber State University
Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy and earned its current name in 1991.
As of fall 2023, the student population reached 30,536 students, cons ...
from 2012 to 2013 and
California State University, Sacramento
California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California, United States. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is part of the California State Universit ...
from 2014 to 2018.
Early life and playing career
Sears attended
Pullman High School in his hometown of
Pullman, Washington. He attended
Washington State University
Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...
, where he walked on to the
Washington State Cougars football team as a
wide receiver
A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
under head coach
Mike Price.
Coaching career
In 1994, Sears attended graduate school at
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...
, where he earned his master's degree. There he served as a
graduate assistant
A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research resp ...
coach for the
Iowa State Cyclones football team, where he coached wide receivers and
defensive back
In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...
s.
In 1998, Sears became 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 ...
at
St. Ambrose University. Following a two-year stint at St. Ambrose, he was an assistant coach for three years at the
United States Military Academy, before heading to
Eastern Washington University as a defensive coordinator.
Sears spent three years as the co-defensive coordinator for the Washington State Cougars. After head coach
Paul Wulff was fired in late 2011, new Washington State head coach
Mike Leach did not keep any of the Wulff staff.
On April 2, 2012, Sears joined new head coach
John L. Smith as the defensive coordinator at
Weber State University
Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy and earned its current name in 1991.
As of fall 2023, the student population reached 30,536 students, cons ...
. A few weeks later, when Smith stepped down to become the head coach at the
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...
, Sears was asked to become the interim head coach.
During his two seasons as a head coach of Weber State, he compiled a record of 4–19 losses before being relieved of his duties.
In 2014, he was named head coach at
California State University, Sacramento
California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California, United States. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is part of the California State Universit ...
. In five years, he compiled an 20–35 record with two winning seasons. Their record in 2017 tied them for third in the
Big Sky Conference
The Big Sky Conference is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference, affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I with college football, football competing in the Football Cha ...
standings, their best conference finish since 2010.
In 2019, Sears stepped in as defensive coordinator, on an interim basis, to coach the
2019 Nevada Wolf Pack football team in the
2020 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (January) against
Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
.
Head coaching record
References
External links
Washington State profileWeber State profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sears, Jody
1967 births
Living people
American football wide receivers
Army Black Knights football coaches
Eastern Washington Eagles football coaches
Iowa State Cyclones football coaches
Nevada Wolf Pack football coaches
Sacramento State Hornets football coaches
St. Ambrose Fighting Bees football coaches
Washington State Cougars football coaches
Washington State Cougars football players
Weber State Wildcats football coaches