Wright joins the Racers after a successful coaching career that included stops in the NFL and at Alabama and South Carolina
The start of a new era of Murray State Football began Friday when Jody Wright was named the 20th head coach of the program in front of a large crowd of supporters in the Murray Room of the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.
Well known among the best college football recruiters in the nation. Wright comes to Murray State with an impressive resume that points to success at the highest level of the college game and in the National Football League.
Wright comes to Murray State from South Carolina where he coached the Gamecocks tight ends coach with head coach Shane Beamer, the son of Murray State Hall of Famer Coach Frank Beamer. Wright’s resume is unrivaled in the coaching profession, highlighted by two stints under legendary head coach Nick Saban at Alabama working with other major names in the coaching profession including Shane Beamer, Lane Kiffin, Billy Napier, Kirby Smart, Sylvester Croom, Bill Clark, and Joe Judge, among others.
In the NFL, coached with the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns.
During the national search, led by MSU Athletics Director Nico Yantko, there was a point when Coach Wright’s talent was seen and he became the best choice for Murray State.
“As this search process began, we talked about the profile and characteristics we wanted in our next head football coach,” said Murray State Athletics Director Nico Yantko. “We talked about a coach that built positive relationships with his players and those that he serves and one that prioritizes building the man and the student. We wanted to identify someone who was a relentless recruiter and someone with the commitment and ability to develop talent. And finally we wanted someone who was a proven winner. As we vetted and visited with candidates, Jody began to separate himself from the group. He had energy and a detailed plan that showed what success would look like. But for us, the most important thing that stood out was how much he focuses on caring for the student-athletes in our program and assure that we will continue to serve them from recruitment through retirement.”
With a Murray State schedule that begins at Missouri (Aug. 31) the 2024 season also marks the 100th season in program history and the Racers’ second season in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
Wright understands that the Racers are competing in the best FCS league in the nation and the competition is fierce.
“I’m excited to get to work and consider what this team did in its first year in The Valley,” Wright said. “Do you believe that this is a program that can be mentioned at the top of the Missouri Valley with those teams we talked about? Yes, I do and that’s one of the reasons I took this head coaching job. Why not us? I know we’re going to have to embrace that mentality. I do love that we’re the most southern school in the conference and we’ve got to figure out our footprint and what we can do to compete, because there’s definitely some teams in this conference that have figured it out. So we’re going to dive in and find our niche and find what can separate us.”
One of the obvious questions on the day when a new head coach is introduced is about football philosophy.
“Step number one is pouring ourselves into the current players here,” Wright added. “We’ll develop them to be the best football players they can be. Second is recruiting. Just like every college football team, everybody’s always trying to upgrade their roster. Maybe where we’re not quite as good as we need to be in some places. Maybe it’s a depth issue. Maybe it’s a talent issue. Maybe it’s just somebody playing in the wrong position, but we will figure out a way to maximize the players that we currently have here.”
What about offense, defense and special teams?
“I plan on having early spring football to determine where we’re and see who can block and who can tackle and who can’t be tackled and who can’t be blocked,” Wright stated. “I love to have a running quarterback, a lot of times the opponent has to put an extra guy in the box and then you look at that and how you can take advantage of it. I’m also a big fan of tempo and being able to play fast, but also, you know, being able to be multiple in scheme. Defensively, I want the kind of defense that attacks and is aggressive. On special teams, working for Coach Beamer, you realize the importance of special teams and of course Coach Frank Beamer was legendary in special teams and won a lot of games because of it. We want to have great special teams here at Murray State.”
The 2024 season features 12 games, all on Saturdays, starting with a game at Missouri (Aug. 31), followed by the home opener (Sept. 7) against Butler. Murray State Family Weekend sees the Racers host Mississippi Valley State (Sept. 14) and opening MVFC play at North Dakota (Sept. 28). Homecoming has the Illinois State Redbirds coming into Roy Stewart Stadium (Oct. 19). The Racers also play at Kentucky (Nov. 16).
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