Joe Kines (born July 13, 1944) 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 ...

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

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 ...

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 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 ...

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, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

after the dismissal of

Mike Shula Mike Shula (born June 3, 1965) is an American football coach who is the offensive coordinator for the South Carolina Gamecocks. He played college football as a quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide and was the school's head coach from 2003 t ...

Early life

Kines was born on July 13, 1944, in a train car that was en route from Cedartown, Georgia, to

Piedmont, Alabama Piedmont is a city in Calhoun and Cherokee counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population was 4,400 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Anniston- Oxford, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is approximately one an ...

. He holds both bachelor's and master's degree's from

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 ...

. Kines is married to the former Rubye Bell and they had 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 Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

, where he served as assistant coach and

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 ...

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

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

, 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 university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

under Charley Pell. 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 The National Football League (NFL) is a 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 Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

’s

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

. 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 The Citadel Military College of South Carolina (simply known as The Citadel) is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Established in 1842, it is the third oldest of the six senior military colleges ...

. He guided the Razorbacks to a 45–7 victory over

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

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

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

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 played annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its Cotton Bowl (stadium), namesake ...

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 The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

, 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 or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

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

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 The Independence Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually each December at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Independence Bow ...

where they lost to

Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

, 34–31. New Alabama head coach

Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. ( ; born October 31, 1951) is an American sportscaster and former Professional gridiron football, professional and college football coach. He serves as an analyst for ESPN's ''College GameDay (football TV program), Colleg ...

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 Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

head coach

Mike Sherman Michael Francis Sherman (born December 19, 1954) is an American gridiron football coach and former player who most recently was the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was the head coach of the Green B ...

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 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. **

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