Jeff Monken, Georgia Southern Head Football Coach
7/14/2011 7:25:00 PM | General
As Georgia Southern University embarks on a new journey, there may not be a more perfect individual than Head Coach Jeff Monken to navigate the present and future for the Eagle Football program. In its first transitional year after accepting an invitation in March to join the Sun Belt Conference and move to the Football Bowl Subdivision, the tasks at hand are many and the expectations are as high as ever. For Monken, leading this traditional power to a new chapter begins with 2013, as several of the first student-athletes he recruited to Georgia Southern will compete in their last season as Eagles.
Finalist for the 2012 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year award, Monken guided the Eagles to a third-straight double-digit win season and second-straight Southern Conference championship in 2012. Georgia Southern was the only program to make an appearance in each of the last three NCAA FCS Semifinals and earned a number-three final ranking in both polls.
Monken holds a 31-12 career record (.721) in his three seasons in Statesboro, a mark that includes a streak of 14-straight wins at Paulson Stadium, that dated back to 2010 and was at one point, was the country’s longest. The Eagles competed against the nation's toughest schedule in 2012, a slate that was ranked seventh most difficult on the FBS and FCS combined list. Measured against the high standards and history of the Georgia Southern program, Monken continues to impress. With a third-straight double-digit win season, he joins Paul Johnson as the only other Eagle Football coach to have accomplished that feat in their first three seasons.
While the yearly records reflect the success, other indicators emphasize the point. More than 30 individual or team records have been broken or tied in the last three seasons. Monken’s 2012 Georgia Southern team claimed the NCAA annual rushing title with the highest per game average in Division I at 399.36 yards per game. Quarterback Jerick McKinnon, a candidate for the Walter Payton Award, and running back Dominique Swope not only climbed up the national and conference charts for rushing yards and total offense, they also combined for the NCAA record for rushing yards by teammates (3,063) last season.
Adding to the lengthy list of All-Americans, seven Eagles earned accolades in 2012, several others were honored with recognition from numerous national media outlets and seniors Darius Eubanks, Brent Russell and J.J. Wilcox garnered showcase bowl opportunities. Wilcox became the Georgia Southern’s highest-ever NFL Draft pick, selected by the Cowboys in the third round while Eubanks (Minnesota) and Russell (Chicago) signed free agent contracts, joining Eagle Laron Scott, who signed with the New York Giants organization the year before.
During the 2011 season, Georgia Southern spent seven weeks at #1 in both FCS polls, received the school’s first Associated Press (AP) poll vote and defeated Wofford 31-10 for the ninth Southern Conference Championship in school history. Five players were named All-Americans after the 11-3 season and the Eagles cleaned up the major SoCon awards with Brent Russell selected as the SoCon Defensive Player of the Year, Dominique Swope the Freshman of the Year, and Monken named the Coach of the Year. The Eagles continued their success in the postseason, winning a pair of home playoff games against Old Dominion and Maine before finishing the season in the semifinals.
The Eagles defeated five ranked teams in Monken’s inaugural campaign in 2010, posting a 10-5 record which included an overtime victory over top-ranked and previously undefeated Appalachian State. Georgia Southern snapped the Mountaineers’ 26-game conference winning streak at Paulson Stadium and the win opened the door for the program’s first NCAA appearance since 2005.
Reeling off three-straight victories to end the regular season, the Eagles earned a spot in the postseason, and added three more marks to the win column to advance to their first FCS semifinal playoff game since 2002. The 10-win campaign was the first in eight years as the Eagles reclaimed positions in the national and conference statistical rankings for offense, defense and special teams.
While the facts and figures leave little to dispute regarding the Eagles’ success, Monken waves off any accolades and instead focuses on plans for the upcoming season. Not only is he charged with preparing his team for roles on the football field, he takes very seriously the responsibility of helping young men reach their goals as future graduates and citizens.
The results have been positive in those aspects as well. The Georgia Southern Football program set a new high in team grade point average in each of Monken’s first two years. The Eagles’ broke their 2010-11 record with a 2.64 GPA in the 2011-12 academic year. They also set a new standard for single-semester mark with a 2.70 GPA in the 2012 spring semester with 49 Eagles posting GPAs of 3.0 or better. This past fall, 42 student-athletes achieved a 3.0 or above GPA, contributing to the program’s highest-ever in-season GPA and 27 Eagles were honored on the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll for the 2012-13 year with nine earning the Commissioner’s medal.
The lessons learned in the classroom and on the field are part of the process of educating these young men. Monken also encourages volunteer service and both the Eagle head coach and football players are frequent participants at local events, serving in the community and working with people of all ages on various projects and initiatives. Their presence brightens the demeanor of those they visit and that observation alone shows another dimension of Monken’s role as a coach and mentor.
Accepting the head coaching position at Georgia Southern in November 2009, Monken approaches the tasks at hand every day with a sense of urgency combined with a reverence for the Eagle coaches and players who built the foundation and created the dynasty. His plan for Georgia Southern’s success is just as straight forward as his coaching philosophy: work hard, be tough and play with unrelenting effort. With a dozen family members, including his father, Mike, who coach at the high school, collegiate or pro level, there are more than just a few who have influenced his thinking and coaching style.
When he was hired as the eighth head coach in the modern history of the program, Monken had 20 years of coaching experience, including 13 serving as an assistant coach for his mentor Paul Johnson. Monken was the Eagles’ slotbacks coach from 1997-2001, joining Johnson’s staff at Navy and Georgia Tech before returning to the familiar sidelines at Georgia Southern and the “triple option” offense.
The option, so tied to the identity of Georgia Southern, delivered six national championship flags to Paulson Stadium and countless exciting moments to Eagle fans. Monken stands by the option as not just an offensive scheme, but “the” offense for the Eagles. The numbers: yards gained, wins and championship rings alone are enough to make the point in its favor.
Behind the option and some talented players in the program, Monken’s five years on Coach Johnson’s staff at Georgia Southern were among the most successful of any program. The five-year period produced an overall record of 62-10, two NCAA FCS National Championships (1999 and 2000), five consecutive NCAA FCS playoff appearances, five Southern Conference championships, and the school’s second undefeated regular season (1998) en route to a national championship appearance. During that 1998 season, Corey Joyner, under the tutelage of Monken, earned All-SoCon and All-America honors.
The proficiency of the offense was evident as Georgia Southern ranked among the top-five teams in rushing offense all five years, leading the nation in 1999 (419 ypg) and 2001 (323.6 ypg). The Eagles finished among the top-15 national scoring leaders in four of those five seasons - including posting the nation’s best average of 50.0 points per game in 1999. Monken also oversaw the Eagles’ special teams units, with his punt team ranking fourth nationally in 2001, averaging a net of 38.7 yards.
Monken joined Georgia Southern after playing a key role in the resurgence of Georgia Tech football and served as slotbacks coach and special teams coordinator in 2008 and 2009. Monken helped the Yellow Jackets win the Atlantic Coast Conference championship (vacated) and post double-digit wins in 2009.
Prior to Georgia Tech, Monken spent six seasons with Johnson at Navy, coaching the Midshipmen’s slotbacks and, starting in 2005, adding duties as special teams coordinator. Part of a staff that led Navy to success unseen in Annapolis in decades, Monken contributed to a prolific offensive system that led the Midshipmen to five-straight bowl appearances and five consecutive Commander-in-Chief trophies between 2003 and 2007. Navy recorded 10 wins in 2004, tying the Academy’s previous best mark for wins last achieved in 1905, and finished the season with a number-24 ranking.
Handling a wide variety of duties throughout his coaching career, Monken started in the profession in 1989 as a graduate assistant at Hawai’i. After a one-year stint as a graduate assistant at Arizona State in 1991, he moved on to Buffalo, where he served as a wide receivers and tight ends coach and handled recruiting coordinator responsibilities. He also served on the staffs at Morton (Ill.) High School (head coach) and Concordia (Ill.) University (offensive line).
The Joliet, Ill., native earned a master’s degree from Hawai’i in 1991 and a bachelor’s degree from Millikin University in 1989. He played wide receiver for the Big Blue for four years and was a two-time letterwinner in track. Monken will be inducted into the Millikin Athletic Hall of Fame in October of 2013.
Monken and his wife, Beth, make their home in Statesboro. The couple has three daughters, Isabelle, Amelia and Evangeline.
