Coach Jerry Mack leaving NC Central for offensive coordinator job at Rice

DURHAM, North Carolina -- N.C. Central football coach Jerry Mack is leaving Durham to become the next offensive coordinator at Rice University in Houston, Texas, Mack said Friday.

The Owls earlier this week named former Stanford offensive coordinator Mike Bloomgren as their new head coach replacing David Bailiff, who was fired in November after 10 years of leading the program.

Bloomgren and Mack have history, both serving on the staff at Delta State when Mack was a graduate assistant there in 2004-2005. Bloomgren was the offensive coordinator, offensive line coach and special teams coach from March 2005 to February 2007. A chance to coach at the highest level and to coach with his good friend Bloomgren was a chance Mack jumped at.

“I just couldn’t turn down this opportunity for me and my family,” Mack said.

Mack, 37, was named the Eagles 22nd head football coach in 2013. The Memphis, Tenn. native was the third-youngest active Division I coach. In four years in Durham, Mack led the Eagles to a 31-15 record and three consecutive MEAC championships. During the 2016 season, N.C. Central cracked the FCS Top 25 poll for the first time since making the jump to Division I, earning a trip to the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl.

CONTINUE READING