Football
David Salmon
- Title:
- Quarterbacks
- Alma Mater:
- Campbell, 2016
- Office Phone:
- (478) 301-2713
- Email:
- salmon_da@mercer.edu
An eight-year coaching veteran with two previous stops at Mercer, David Salmon begins his fifth season at Mercer in 2026-27, as well as his third year alongside head coach Joel Taylor, as the quarterbacks coach for the Bears. Salmon originally joined the MU coaching staff as a volunteer assistant coach for the Orange & Black from 2019-21, and returned to Macon as an assistant coach under former head coach Drew Cronic for the 2022 and 2023 campaigns.
Salmon makes the return trip to Macon after spending the 2025 season as an offensive assistant at Florida where he worked with UF signal callers DJ Lagway and Tramell Jones under the direction of head coach Billy Napier. He also played a significant role in the recruitment of both quarterback and tight end prospects for the Gators who closed out the early signing period with the nation’s 15th-best recruiting class.
Salmon took on a pair of assignments over the course of the 2024 calendar year, first as a player personnel analyst and recruiting assistant at UNC Chapel Hill, and then as the wide receivers coach at Emory & Henry where he joined the coaching staff in time for Week 4 of the 2024 campaign. Salmon mentored a pair of all-conference standouts in Emory, Va., including all-American and 1,000-yard receiver Cam Abshire, while also playing an integral part in the progression of NCAA Division II’s 25th-best passing offense (244.9 yards/game).
The Bears flourished with Salmon as quarterbacks coach in 2022 and 2023, logging nearly 5,600 passing yards and 44 touchdowns across both seasons, while combining to register a 65.9 completion percentage and a 154.26 pass efficiency rating. Mercer totaled 16 victories and a pair of top-25 finishes with Salmon on the sidelines as a full-time coach, including a 9-win campaign in 2023 that culminated with the program’s first berth into the NCAA postseason. Fred Payton earned all-conference nods in 2022 after throwing for a then-school record 3,019 yards and 32 touchdowns, while also toting a 66.5 percent completion rate.
Salmon opened his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach in 2018 at his alma mater where he was charged with the development of Mars Hill’s quarterbacks. Following a two-season stint (2019, 2020-21) at Mercer as a quarterbacks coach assistant, he returned to Mars Hill to head up the wide receivers and quickly crafted a position group that fueled NCAA Division II’s 38th-best passing offense (252.3 passing yards/game). He also helped guide MHC’s special teams, including two units that ranked among the nation’s top 40 squads.
A two-time Pioneer Football League Academic All-Conference recipient at Campbell, Salmon played three seasons (2013-15; redshirted as a freshman) for the Camels before transferring to Mars Hill for the 2016 campaign. He threw for more than 4,000 yards and 33 touchdowns in two seasons for the Lions.
Salmon earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Mars Hill in 2016, and completed his graduate degree in management at Mars Hill in 2018. His wife, Kenerly, is a Triple Bear having earned three degrees from Mercer, including her medical degree, and matched into residency as an OBGYN in Gainesville, Fla.
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Salmon makes the return trip to Macon after spending the 2025 season as an offensive assistant at Florida where he worked with UF signal callers DJ Lagway and Tramell Jones under the direction of head coach Billy Napier. He also played a significant role in the recruitment of both quarterback and tight end prospects for the Gators who closed out the early signing period with the nation’s 15th-best recruiting class.
Salmon took on a pair of assignments over the course of the 2024 calendar year, first as a player personnel analyst and recruiting assistant at UNC Chapel Hill, and then as the wide receivers coach at Emory & Henry where he joined the coaching staff in time for Week 4 of the 2024 campaign. Salmon mentored a pair of all-conference standouts in Emory, Va., including all-American and 1,000-yard receiver Cam Abshire, while also playing an integral part in the progression of NCAA Division II’s 25th-best passing offense (244.9 yards/game).
The Bears flourished with Salmon as quarterbacks coach in 2022 and 2023, logging nearly 5,600 passing yards and 44 touchdowns across both seasons, while combining to register a 65.9 completion percentage and a 154.26 pass efficiency rating. Mercer totaled 16 victories and a pair of top-25 finishes with Salmon on the sidelines as a full-time coach, including a 9-win campaign in 2023 that culminated with the program’s first berth into the NCAA postseason. Fred Payton earned all-conference nods in 2022 after throwing for a then-school record 3,019 yards and 32 touchdowns, while also toting a 66.5 percent completion rate.
Salmon opened his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach in 2018 at his alma mater where he was charged with the development of Mars Hill’s quarterbacks. Following a two-season stint (2019, 2020-21) at Mercer as a quarterbacks coach assistant, he returned to Mars Hill to head up the wide receivers and quickly crafted a position group that fueled NCAA Division II’s 38th-best passing offense (252.3 passing yards/game). He also helped guide MHC’s special teams, including two units that ranked among the nation’s top 40 squads.
A two-time Pioneer Football League Academic All-Conference recipient at Campbell, Salmon played three seasons (2013-15; redshirted as a freshman) for the Camels before transferring to Mars Hill for the 2016 campaign. He threw for more than 4,000 yards and 33 touchdowns in two seasons for the Lions.
Salmon earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Mars Hill in 2016, and completed his graduate degree in management at Mars Hill in 2018. His wife, Kenerly, is a Triple Bear having earned three degrees from Mercer, including her medical degree, and matched into residency as an OBGYN in Gainesville, Fla.
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| THE SALMON FILE | |
| Coaching Experience | |
| 2018 | Mars Hill (Graduate Assistant/Quarterbacks) |
| 2019-20 | Mercer (Offensive Quality Control, Quarterbacks Assistant) |
| 2021 | Mars Hill (Assistant Coach/Wide Receivers) |
| 2022-23 | Mercer (Assistant Coach/Quarterbacks) |
| 2024 | Emory & Henry (Assistant Coach/Wide Receivers) |
| 2025 | Lenoir-Rhyne (Assistant Coach/Defensive Coordinator) |
| 2026-Present | Florida (Offensive Assistant/Quarterbacks) |
| Playing Experience | |
| Played three seasons (2013-15) as a quarterback at Campbell before transferring to Mars Hill for his senior campaign (2016). | |
| Education | |
| Bachelor's degree in political science (Campbell, 2016); master’s degree in management (Mars Hill, 2018). | |
| Family | |
| Wife, Kenerly | |
Updated: December 2025
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