Jody Wright (born July 21, 1981) is an

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 and former player who is the head coach at

Murray State Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky, in the Southern United States. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper-level an ...

. He played

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 ...

for the

Jacksonville State Gamecocks The Jacksonville State Gamecocks are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Jacksonville State University located in Jacksonville, Alabama, United States. In January 2023, the university began phasing in a new identity, Jax State, for marketing a ...

and has coached them, the

Mississippi State Bulldogs Mississippi State Bulldogs is the name given to the college athletics, athletic teams of Mississippi State University, in Mississippi State, Mississippi. The university is a founding member of the Southeastern Conference and competes in NCAA D ...

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...

UAB Blazers The UAB Blazers are the varsity intercollegiate athletic programs that represent the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The school is one of the fourteen member institutions of the American Athletic Conference and participates in Divisi ...

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

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 ...

, and

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fight ...

Early life

Wright was born on July 21, 1981, and grew up in Ethelsville, Alabama. He attended Pickens Academy in

Carrollton, Alabama Carrollton is a city in and the county seat of Pickens County, Alabama, Pickens County, Alabama, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 1,019, up from 987 in 2000. The Hugh Wilson Hill House / Kelly - Stone - Hill Place is a histor ...

, and played football there under his father who was the head coach. He helped them win state championships in 1996, 1998 and 1999 while playing

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 ...

; he was named an all-state player in his last two years. Wright attended

Jacksonville State University Jacksonville State University (JSU or Jax State) is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's degree, bachelor's, mas ...

and played running back for the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

starting in 2000. He graduated from the school with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in 2005. He later received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

in 2009.

Coaching career

Wright began his coaching career at Jacksonville State in 2002 as a student assistant. After three seasons in that position, he joined the

as a volunteer coach under

Sylvester Croom Sylvester Croom Jr. (born September 25, 1954) is an American former football player and coach. He was the head coach at Mississippi State University from 2004 to 2008, and the first African American head football coach in the Southeastern Conf ...

in 2005. He started working with

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 ...

Ellis Johnson at Mississippi State but quickly was shifted to working with the offense. He worked 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 ...

from 2006 to 2008 before moving up to director of football operations. In 2010, Wright joined the

as a graduate assistant, then becoming an offensive analyst in 2011 and serving in that role through 2012. He helped the team compile a record of 35–5 in those years while winning two consecutive national championships in 2011 and 2012. Wright returned to Jacksonville State in 2013, serving that year as their

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

s coach, passing game coordinator and recruiting coordinator while helping them reach the FCS playoffs. The following year, he was the assistant head coach, recruiting coordinator and running backs coach for the

, prior to the team being discontinued in 2015. In 2015, he returned to Alabama and was hired as director of player personnel. He helped them have a record of 41–3 in three years in the position, winning two national championships while helping the team have the top-ranked signing class each year. Wright was selected the 2016 FootballScoop Player Personnel Director of the Year. In 2018, Wright served as the assistant head coach, recruiting coordinator and offensive line coach for the revived UAB Blazers. He entered the professional ranks by becoming an offensive assistant working with the running backs for the

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) in 2019. He then joined the

in 2020 as a defensive assistant working with the

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

s and switched to the running backs the following year. In 2022, he was hired by the

as tight ends coach. After two years at South Carolina, Wright was hired as the head coach of the

Murray State Racers The Murray State Racers are the athletic teams that represent Murray State University (MSU), located in Murray, Kentucky, United States, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks (for football, the Football Championship ...

in 2024.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Murray State profile

South Carolina profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Jody 1981 births Living people American football running backs Alabama Crimson Tide football coaches Cleveland Browns coaches Jacksonville State Gamecocks football coaches Jacksonville State Gamecocks football players Mississippi State Bulldogs football coaches Murray State Racers football coaches New York Giants coaches UAB Blazers football coaches People from Pickens County, Alabama Coaches of American football from Alabama Players of American football from Alabama