Football
- Title:
- Recruiting Coordinator/Running Backs
- Alma Mater:
- Tusculum, 2013
- Office Phone:
- (478) 301-4605
- Email:
- jones_f@mercer.edu
A 13-year coaching veteran with previous stops at three other collegiate institutions, Fred Jones begins his fourth year at Mercer in 2025-26, as well as his second season alongside head coach Mike Jacobs, as the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator for the Bears. Jones originally joined the coaching staff in Macon prior to the start of the 2022 campaign as a member of former MU head coach Drew Cronic’s staff.
Jones has been the architect behind an effective rushing attack over the last three seasons in Macon, averaging nearly 167 yards per game on the ground while also tacking up 1.6 rushing touchdowns an outing as well. The Bears have boasted one of the nation’s top-40 rushing offenses since Jones arrived in Middle Georgia, and the program produced its first 1,000-yard back in 2024 when all-American Dwayne McGee amassed a school record 1,187 yards on the ground. The 2022 version of MU’s ground game also registered the most rushing yards per attempt (5.1) in the modern day history of the program (since 2013).
Jones has mentored a pair of All-Southern Conference selections across his time in the Orange & Black, including McGee who went on to claim all-America status as well. Al Wooten II and Austin Douglas both picked up all-league laurels from Phil Steele after productive seasons in 2022.
Prior to making the move to Middle Georgia, Jones enjoyed a stellar career as both the running backs coach (2015-16) and offensive coordinator (2017-21) at Reinhardt. The Eagles amassed 71 victories with Jones on the sidelines in Waleska, Ga., and raked in 40 offensive all-conference accolades, including 14 all-league running backs, and six all-Americans. Reinhardt captured seven-straight conference titles from 2015-21, while also making an appearance in the 2017 national championship game.
With Jones leading the running back corps for the Eagles, Reinhardt averaged 278.0 yards per game on the ground across the 2013 and 2014 campaigns, including a 2014 season that watched RU tack up nearly 3,000 rushing yards while showcasing the nation’s 4th-best ground attack (292.8 yards/game). Jones was promoted to offensive coordinator in time for the 2017 season, and the Eagles’ offense became electric.
Reinhardt compiled a cumulative 49-9 record From 2017-21 behind a relentless offensive attack that averaged 415.9 yards, including more than 342 yards on the ground, and 39.1 points per game. The Eagles boasted a top-10 scoring offense four times across Jones’s tenure as offensive coordinator, while also displaying one of NAIA’s top-4 rushing attacks five times. Reinhardt, twice, led the nation in rushing yards per game, including 456.2 rushing yards an outing in 2017.
Jones transitioned into the coaching world as a student assistant running backs coach at Tusculum for the 2012 season, and spent the next 2-1/2 seasons in various roles on the staff at Clark Atlanta, including one as the wide receivers coach for the Panthers in 2013. He was promoted to a full-time role at CAU as the running backs coach in 2014, and served as the interim offensive coordinator the following spring.
A native of Appling, Ga., Jones played four seasons (2007-11) in the running backs rotation at Tusculum, and earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from the prestigious institution in 2013. Fred and his wife, Shannin, have two children, Lee and Naomi.
Prior to making the move to Middle Georgia, Jones enjoyed a stellar career as both the running backs coach (2015-16) and offensive coordinator (2017-21) at Reinhardt. The Eagles amassed 71 victories with Jones on the sidelines in Waleska, Ga., and raked in 40 offensive all-conference accolades, including 14 all-league running backs, and six all-Americans. Reinhardt captured seven-straight conference titles from 2015-21, while also making an appearance in the 2017 national championship game.
With Jones leading the running back corps for the Eagles, Reinhardt averaged 278.0 yards per game on the ground across the 2013 and 2014 campaigns, including a 2014 season that watched RU tack up nearly 3,000 rushing yards while showcasing the nation’s 4th-best ground attack (292.8 yards/game). Jones was promoted to offensive coordinator in time for the 2017 season, and the Eagles’ offense became electric.
Reinhardt compiled a cumulative 49-9 record From 2017-21 behind a relentless offensive attack that averaged 415.9 yards, including more than 342 yards on the ground, and 39.1 points per game. The Eagles boasted a top-10 scoring offense four times across Jones’s tenure as offensive coordinator, while also displaying one of NAIA’s top-4 rushing attacks five times. Reinhardt, twice, led the nation in rushing yards per game, including 456.2 rushing yards an outing in 2017.
Jones transitioned into the coaching world as a student assistant running backs coach at Tusculum for the 2012 season, and spent the next 2-1/2 seasons in various roles on the staff at Clark Atlanta, including one as the wide receivers coach for the Panthers in 2013. He was promoted to a full-time role at CAU as the running backs coach in 2014, and served as the interim offensive coordinator the following spring.
A native of Appling, Ga., Jones played four seasons (2007-11) in the running backs rotation at Tusculum, and earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from the prestigious institution in 2013. Fred and his wife, Shannin, have two children, Lee and Naomi.
| THE JONES FILE | |
| Coaching Experience | |
| 2012 | Tusculum (Student Assistant Coach) |
| 2013 | Clark Atlanta (Graduate Assistant Coach/Wide Receivers) |
| 2014 | Clark Atlanta (Assistant Coach/Running Backs) |
| 2015-16 | Reinhardt (Assistant Coach/Running Backs) |
| 2017-21 | Reinhardt (Associate Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator) |
| 2022-Present | Mercer (Assistant Coach/Running Backs) |
| Playing Experience | |
| Played three seasons (2007-11) at Tusculum in running back rotation. | |
| Education | |
| Bachelor's degree in physical education (Tusculum, 2013). | |
| Family | |
| Wife, Shannin, and two children, Lee and Naomi | |
