Texas announces the hiring of Jacksonville Jaguars WR coach Chris Jackson

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver coach Chris Jackson is leaving Florida to take the same job with the Texas Longhorns, according to multiple reports Tuesday.

The school confirmed the news Tuesday night with Jackson also holding the passing game coordinator title.

“We’re thrilled that Chris Jackson is a Longhorn,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “He is such a talented coach with a ton of football and life experience that we will benefit from having on our team. Chris is a passionate, detail-oriented guy who has followed a unique path to coaching, but he’s as good as them when it comes to developing and preparing receivers. He’s a highly respected coach with a great work ethic who studies the game, and he’s a proven leader who not only helps his players improve on the field, but also builds strong relationships with them. During his time in the NFL, he worked with exceptional coaches who all quickly recognized his talent in the profession. Not only did he coach players at the highest level in the last five years in the NFL, but he knows the position well having himself been an NFL veteran, All-Pac-10 and 1,000-yard receiver. Washington State with Jeff Banks, so it is a guy we know very well and we know he will be a great addition to our team. We’re excited to get it started.

The news comes more than two weeks after former Texas wide receivers coach Brennan Marion was officially announced as offensive coordinator at UNLV and eight days after Jackson apparently denied reports linking him to the Longhorns.

But that was when Jacksonville was still in the playoffs and following their elimination by the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday, Jackson was free to begin finalizing his deal to join Sarkisian’s coaching staff.

Jackson’s connection to the program is that he played with tight ends coach/special teams coordinator Jeff Banks at Washington State in 1996 and 1997, including the Rose Bowl run led by Ryan Leaf. during the last season.

“My main thought in this movement was originally just young men,” Jackson said. “The excitement and opportunity to coach at the collegiate level at a school with Texas notoriety is a great opportunity. form and allow them to grow, not just as football players but as young men, that’s also what drew me in. I’ve always been passionate about it, and I’ve been able to do it at the NFL level, but there’s something super intriguing about these young men, the ones I can hope to inspire and lead through the position I just left some of them will want to pursue a professional career and will just have need that guidance and that leadership to get there, and I’ve seen that not just as a player but as a coach now. That’s the job for me — young men and development.

“Coach Sarkisian has always been phenomenal and an offensive mastermind. Being a wide receiver myself, I really try to lock myself into his thought processes of why he does things and how he does things, so that I can just be an extension of him He’s been successful not only at the college level but also in the NFL so I just want to embrace all of that and add whatever I can in regards to my experience and process of But for me, it was a no-brainer to come to Texas and work under Sark and with his amazing team. He did it at the college level and at the NFL level, and I know he transforms the culture there. I just want to be a part of that.

After a long professional career mostly in the Arena Football League that included 13,355 receiving yards and 325 touchdowns, Jackson coached wide receivers at a high school in Arizona before landing a job in 2019 as a defensive assistant with the Chicago Bears. Jackson previously spent time with the Bears during training camp in 2018 through the NFL’s Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Scholarship Program.

Jackson served as assistant wide receivers coach in Chicago for two seasons before Doug Pederson hired him at Jacksonville last year for what turned out to be a successful season for wide receivers Christian Kirk and Zay Jones:

In his lone season with the Jaguars, Jackson guided the wide receiver unit to become one of only three in the NFL to have two players with 80+ receptions in 2022 in Christian Kirk (84) and Zay Jones. (82). Both totals were in the top 10 in Jacksonville single-season history, with Kirk placing eighth and Jones tied for 10th. Kirk also had his first season receiving 1,000 yards with 1,108 to rank 14th in the league to go with eight touchdowns, tied for fifth most in Jaguars history. During that time, Jones recorded 823 receiving yards and five touchdowns, and Marvin Jones, Jr., added 46 receptions for 529 yards and three touchdowns.

So while Jackson has no college football experience, particularly as a scout, he is a Mater Dei alumni, providing a connection to California’s talent-laden program, and his rapid rise through the ranks of the NFL suggests ability to adapt quickly to new role on Forty Acres.

“I know Texas is football,” Jackson added. “That’s what I know, and that’s from a kid in California. I knew people back then never left Texas, especially if you were one of the best players in Texas, that’s where I want to play a part in helping Coach Sark and the staff keep coming back to that aspect, where Texas is the only place these kids from Texas want to go Austin is an awesome city My oldest son went to St. Edwards for two years so I had a chance to set it up there and look around, I’m very drawn to the town, the lake and the downtown area is beautiful. I’m just thrilled to be a part of this and to help keep the Texas tradition growing.