Greg Jones joins the staff at Gardner-Webb after a stint as an assistant offensive line coach at Old Dominion. Last season, the Monarchs averaged 339 yards per game, and upset Virginia Tech 20-17, thanks in part to the offensive line clearing space for the offense to average roughly four years per play.
Prior to his time in Norfolk, Jones worked at Wake Forest for six years as an offensive analyst, director of player personnel, defensive assistant and defensive analyst. In 2021, Jones helped head coach Dave Clawson lead the Deacs to a program-record tying 11-3 record, including a school-best 7-1 mark in ACC play. The linebackers group, led by two-time captain and 2021 All-ACC Honorable Mention performer Luke Masterson, helped Wake Forest force a Clawson-era record 29 turnovers (15 interceptions, 14 fumble recoveries). The total is the most since 2008 when Wake Forest tallied 37 turnovers.
Additionally, Wake Forest tallied 38 sacks in 2021 to set another Clawson-era record. That mark sits second second in program history behind the Deacs 1992 squad (46). Meanwhile, Wake Forest’s 223 yardage lost by their 38 sacks was the school’s highest mark since at least 1996.
Individually, Jones tutored the Deacons two top-leading tacklers last fall with Masterson recording 85 total tackles and 13 tackles for loss. Meanwhile, Ryan Smenda, Jr. recorded 83 stops and had three forced fumbles.
In his first season coaching the linebackers in 2020, Jones led a group that included two of the team's top tacklers with Ja'Cquez Williams and Smenda recording a team-high 73 total tackles and six tackles-for-loss and 52 defensive stops and five TFLs, respectively. The duo capped off the year by combining for 27 tackles in Wake Forest's program record fifth-straight bowl appearance against Wisconsin in the Duke's Mayo Bowl.
As a whole, Wake Forest's defense concluded the 2020 campaign as one of just seven FBS schools to post a +10 turnover margin.
Jones worked closely with current Duke head coach, Mike Elko, during his first year on the staff as they helped Wake Forest's defense rank in the top 40 nationally in total defense and 33rd in rushing defense (142.4 yards/game) in 2016.
He spent three seasons at Cornell (2013-15) coaching the secondary. Over his tenure, Cornell moved from the eighth-ranked pass defense to the third-best pass defense in the Ivy League going from 275.5 passing yards allowed to 229.7 passing yards allowed, respectively. He also helped groom safety Nick Gesualdi into an FCS All-American. In 2014, Gesualdi was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year with a league-high four interceptions, which also ranked 23rd in FCS. Under Jones, the Big Red defense led the Ivy League in takeaways in 2014, as all-conference cornerback Michael Turner ranked third in the Ivy League with three interceptions.
He also spent a year each at Kenyon College (Ohio), Rhode Island and Wilkes (Pa.) coaching the defense and special teams.
