With Shawn Clark as the team’s head coach, App State had yet to suffer a losing season. That was, before this year.
The Mountaineers went 5-6 in 2024 and won’t be bowl-eligible after they went into the season with expectations to compete for the Sun Belt title. After that performance, the program announced Monday that Clark was fired.
“I want to thank Shawn for all he has done for the App State football program,” App State athletic director Doug Gillin said in a press release. “Shawn is a true Mountaineer. He has given his heart and soul to his alma mater. He has navigated numerous challenges in his tenure and done so with class and integrity. This was a difficult decision, but after an evaluation of the program, we decided to make the change now.
“The expectation for App State Football is to annually compete for a conference championship and a berth in the College Football Playoff. We have commenced a national search to quickly find the next leader for App State Football. Mountaineer fans are among the most passionate in the country, and we are committed to providing a football program that builds upon the decades of previous championship tradition.”
Here are some coaches App State could consider during its coaching search.
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Duke Offensive Coordinator Jonathan Brewer
Brewer, a current Power Four coordinator, obviously knows the region.
Brewer is in his first season being the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Duke, which is 9-3 overall this year. Before this, he was a co-offensive coordinator and QBs coach at SMU, which was competing in the American Athletic Conference at the time, from 2022-23. He was also an offensive quality control analyst there from 2018-19.
Brewer also worked under current Duke head coach Manny Diaz when he was the head coach at Miami. Brewer was a senior offensive quality control assistant from 2020-21.
He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant with a focus on the offensive line at Auburn from 2013-15. He also was an offensive analyst there in 2016 and at UConn in 2017.
Alabama Tight Ends Coach Bryan Ellis
Ellis knows the Sun Belt well. Last season, when Ellis was an offensive coordinator at Georgia Southern, the Eagles were in the top 50 in the country with 30.2 points and 419.5 yards per game. And that was a down year compared to the other teams he’s worked with.
In 2022, which was Ellis’ first as Georgia Southern’s OC and QBs coach, the Eagles were in the top 20 in the FBS with 466.7 yards per game and scored 32.7 points per game.
Before that, Ellis was Western Kentucky’s co-offensive coordinator and inside receivers coach. In 2021, the Hilltoppers were second in the country with 44.2 points per game and 535.3 yards per game while leading the FBS with 433.7 passing yards per game.
He was WKU’s OC and quarterbacks coach from 2019-20 and was an assistant there from 2014-16. From 2017-18, he worked with quarterbacks at USC.
Western Kentucky Head Coach Tyson Helton
Helton is set to lead Western Kentucky in the Conference USA Championship this week, and since other G5 schools have considered hiring him this year, maybe he would be a good fit for one of the best coaching jobs in the Group of Five.
Helton went into this season with a 40-26 record as WKU’s head coach. His background primarily involves offense. He began his coaching career at Hawaii as a graduate assistant in 2000 and worked with special teams the following three years.
He then coached tight ends and special teams at Memphis from 2004-06. The next five seasons, he coached quarterbacks at UAB and then focused on running backs there in 2012.
In 2013, he was a tight ends and special teams coach at Cincinnati. He coached at WKU for the first time from 2014-15 as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
He was also a QBs coach and a passing game coordinator at USC from 2016-17. He then became the offensive coordinator and a quarterbacks coach at Tennessee for one year before going back to WKU to be a head coach.
Considering he has FBS head coaching experience, he would be an obvious coach for App State to think about.
SMU Offensive Coordinator Casey Woods
Woods is a successful coordinator at a current Power Four school who knows the Sun Belt.
The Mustangs were eighth in the FBS in scored points per game (38.7) and 16th in yards per game (454.9) in 2023, their last year in the AAC. SMU, which is going to play in the ACC Championship this week, was fifth in the country with 39.2 points per game scored after the final week of the regular season.
Previously, Woods was a tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at Missouri. He’s also been an assistant at UAB, Arkansas State, and Auburn.
If Woods were interested, App State would be smart to consider him.
East Tennessee State Head Coach Tre Lamb
Lamb was previously the head coach at Gardner-Webb, which made impressive strides during his time there.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs were 2-2 in the spring of 2021 and 4-7 during the fall of that year. Then Lamb, who was Tennessee Tech’s offensive coordinator before, led the Runnin’ Bulldogs to their first Big South championship since 2003 by going undefeated in conference play. Lamb was the conference’s coach of the year in 2022.
Last year, the Runnin’ Bulldogs were Big South/OVC co-champions and reached the FCS Playoffs again. ETSU went 7-5 during the regular season this year.
If the Mountaineers were to consider someone from the FCS ranks, Lamb’s name might come up. He’s been considered for other G5 coaching jobs this year.
Duke Running Backs Coach Willie Simmons
Simmons has the kind of head coaching experience App State might be looking for.
Simmons is in his first season at Duke after previously being the head coach at Florida A&M. In six years there, Simmons went 45-13 and 34-5 against SWAC opponents. In 2023, a year when Simmons was the SWAC Coach of the Year, the Rattlers won their first SWAC title and the Celebration Bowl. They also were fifth in the FCS rankings. He coached multiple All-American players like Isaiah Land, who was the Buck Buchanan Award winner in 2021.
Before going to Florida A&M, he was the head coach at Prairie View A&M from 2015-17. He had a winning record there as well, going 21-11.
Previously, he was an offensive coordinator and running backs coach at Alcorn State (2012-14). But he also has other FBS experience, having been an offensive coordinator, running backs coach, and passing game coordinator at Middle Tennessee (2007-11). He was also a graduate assistant at Clemson in 2006.
Clemson Co-Defensive Coordinator Mickey Conn
Conn is another current Power Four assistant who could make sense for App State.
Clemson is currently in the top 30 in the FBS in scoring defense (21.08 points per game allowed). Conn has worked with several All-Americans and All-ACC honorees as well.
Conn has coached at Clemson since 2016. He’s currently the team’s safeties coach and was a senior defensive analyst early during his time there as well. Before that, he was the head coach at Grayson High School in Georgia for 16 seasons, where he went 137-48.
