Football
Long, Jimmy
Jimmy Long
- Title:
- Defensive Run Game Coordinator / Defensive Line
- Alma Mater:
- Lenoir-Rhyne, 2014
- Office Phone:
- (478) 301-4603
- Email:
- long_jm@mercer.edu
An 11-year coaching veteran with previous stops at four other collegiate institutions, Jimmy Long begins his sixth year at Mercer in 2025-26, as well as his second season alongside head coach Mike Jacobs, as the defensive run game coordinator and defensive line coach for the Bears. Long originally joined the coaching staff in Macon in January 2020 as a member of former MU head coach Drew Cronic’s staff.
The Bears have ranked among the nation’s top 25 teams in total defense in three of the last four campaigns, while also boasting one of FCS’s stingiest run-stopping units as well. Mercer has yielded just 125.7 yards per game on the ground with Long on the sidelines, while also amassing 6.6 tackles for loss and 2.2 sacks per game across that span as well. MU led the nation by surrendering just 70.8 rushing yards per game on the way to the quarterfinals round of the NCAA FCS Playoffs in 2024, while also ranking first and second among FCS squads in sacks (3.29) and tackles for loss (8.1) per game, respectively.
Long’s defensive line unit has raked in 11 All-Southern Conference awards during his time in Macon, including Solomon Zubairu who was lauded with an all-league crown following each of his four seasons in Middle Georgia. Zubairu also exited Macon owning or sharing six school records, including program superlatives for both career sacks (co) and quarterback hurries. Two defensive linemen - Brayden Manley and Arias Nash - both claimed all-American awards following the 2024 campaign as well.
Prior to trekking to Macon, Long assembled one of NCAA Division II’s most dominant defensive lines while on staff at Lenoir-Rhyne. The Bears held opponents to just 104.8 yards per game on the ground across the 2018 and 2019 seasons, while also racking up more than seven tackles for loss an outing, including nearly 3-1/2 sacks. L-R boasted the nation’s 18th-ranked total defense during the 2019 campaign, while also ranking eighth in rushing yards allowed per game (81.9) and fourth in sacks (3.6/game). The Bears also ranked among NCAA Division II’s top-10 teams in forced turnovers during both the 2018 and 2019 seasons as well.
Long began his coaching career with three separate graduate assistant coaching assignments, including his first as a special teams assistant at The Citadel for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. He also spent one season (2016) as a graduate assistant coach at the University of the South and one more as a defensive line assistant at NC State for the 2017 campaign.
A native of Haymarket, Va., Long served as a team captain for Lenoir-Rhyne as a senior in 2013 and helped guide the Bears to a berth into the national championship game. He was also a part of three-straight (2011-13) South Atlantic Conference championships, and picked up all-conference and all-America accolades along the way as well.
Long graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Lenoir-Rhyne in 2014.
The Bears have ranked among the nation’s top 25 teams in total defense in three of the last four campaigns, while also boasting one of FCS’s stingiest run-stopping units as well. Mercer has yielded just 125.7 yards per game on the ground with Long on the sidelines, while also amassing 6.6 tackles for loss and 2.2 sacks per game across that span as well. MU led the nation by surrendering just 70.8 rushing yards per game on the way to the quarterfinals round of the NCAA FCS Playoffs in 2024, while also ranking first and second among FCS squads in sacks (3.29) and tackles for loss (8.1) per game, respectively.
Long’s defensive line unit has raked in 11 All-Southern Conference awards during his time in Macon, including Solomon Zubairu who was lauded with an all-league crown following each of his four seasons in Middle Georgia. Zubairu also exited Macon owning or sharing six school records, including program superlatives for both career sacks (co) and quarterback hurries. Two defensive linemen - Brayden Manley and Arias Nash - both claimed all-American awards following the 2024 campaign as well.
Prior to trekking to Macon, Long assembled one of NCAA Division II’s most dominant defensive lines while on staff at Lenoir-Rhyne. The Bears held opponents to just 104.8 yards per game on the ground across the 2018 and 2019 seasons, while also racking up more than seven tackles for loss an outing, including nearly 3-1/2 sacks. L-R boasted the nation’s 18th-ranked total defense during the 2019 campaign, while also ranking eighth in rushing yards allowed per game (81.9) and fourth in sacks (3.6/game). The Bears also ranked among NCAA Division II’s top-10 teams in forced turnovers during both the 2018 and 2019 seasons as well.
Long began his coaching career with three separate graduate assistant coaching assignments, including his first as a special teams assistant at The Citadel for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. He also spent one season (2016) as a graduate assistant coach at the University of the South and one more as a defensive line assistant at NC State for the 2017 campaign.
A native of Haymarket, Va., Long served as a team captain for Lenoir-Rhyne as a senior in 2013 and helped guide the Bears to a berth into the national championship game. He was also a part of three-straight (2011-13) South Atlantic Conference championships, and picked up all-conference and all-America accolades along the way as well.
Long graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Lenoir-Rhyne in 2014.
| THE LONG FILE | |
| Coaching Experience | |
| 2014-15 | The Citadel (Graduate Assistant Coach/Special Teams) |
| 2016 | University of the South (Graduate Assistant Coach/Defensive Line) |
| 2017 | NC State (Graduate Assistant Coach/Defensive Line) |
| 2018-19 | Lenoir-Rhyne (Assistant Coach/Defensive Line) |
| 2020-Present | Mercer (Assistant Coach/Defensive Line) |
| Playing Experience | |
| Played four seasons (2010-13) at Lenoir-Rhyne in defensive line rotation. Elected team captain for the Bears. | |
| Education | |
| Bachelor's degree in exercise science (Lenoir-Rhyne, 2014). | |
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