A 10-year NFL veteran — five in coaching and five as a player – and former standout receiver in college, Chris Jackson is joining the Texas Football coaching staff, head coach Steve Sarkisian announced.
He will serve as the Longhorns passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach. Jackson joins Sarkisian's UT staff after spending last season as wide receivers coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who made an impressive run to the playoffs. He replaces Brennan Marion, who departed the staff to become offensive coordinator at UNLV.
"We're fired up that Chris Jackson is a Longhorn," Sarkisian said. "He's such a talented coach with a ton of football and life experience that we'll benefit from having on our staff. Chris is a passionate and attention-to-detail guy who took a unique path to coaching, but is as good as they get when it comes to developing and preparing receivers. He's a very well-respected coach with great work ethic who is a student of 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, too. During his time in the NFL, he's worked with some exceptional coaches who have all quickly recognized his talent in the profession. Not only has he coached players at the highest level the past five years in the NFL, he knows the position well having been an NFL veteran, All-Pac-10 and 1,000-yard receiver himself. He played at Washington State with Jeff Banks, so he's a guy we're very familiar with and know he'll be a tremendous addition to our staff. We're excited to get him started."
In his one season with the Jaguars, Jackson guided the wide receivers unit to becoming one of only three in the NFL to have two players with 80-plus 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's ranking eighth, and Jones's tied for 10th. Kirk also achieved his first 1,000-yard receiving season with 1,108 to rank 14th in the league to go along with eight touchdowns, which tied for fifth in Jaguars' history. Meanwhile, Jones registered 823 receiving yards and five touchdowns, and Marvin Jones, Jr., added 46 receptions for 529 yards and three touchdowns.
"My major thought in this move was originally just young men," Jackson said. "The excitement and opportunity to coach at the college level at a school with the notoriety that Texas has is a great opportunity. Working with young men coming in from 17 to 18 years old to leaving at 22 and providing a platform for them and allowing them to grow, not only as football players but as young men, that's what I was drawn to, as well. I've always been passionate about that, and I've been able to do that at NFL level, but there's something that's super intriguing about those young men, ones I can hopefully inspire and lead through the position I just left. Some of them will want to pursue a professional career and just need some of that guidance and leadership to get there, and I've seen that not only as a player, but as a coach now. That's the work for me – young men and development."
Jackson spent the previous four seasons in a variety of roles with the Chicago Bears. He was initially hired in 2018 during training camp in conjunction with the NFL's Bill Walsh Diversity Fellowship program, prior to serving as a defensive assistant for Chicago in 2019, and the assistant wide receivers coach from 2020-21.
"Coach Sarkisian has always been phenomenal and a mastermind of offense," Jackson said. "Being a wide receiver myself, I'm looking to really just lock all the way into his thought processes for why he does things and how he does things, so I can just be an extension of him. He's had success not only at the college level, but also in the NFL, so I just want to embrace all of it and add whatever I can in regards to my experience and thought process. But to me, it was a no-brainer to come to Texas and work under the leadership of Sark and with his great staff. He's done it at the collegiate level and the NFL level, and I know he's turning the culture there. I just want to be a part of that."
In 2021, Jackson helped second-year wide receiver Darnell Mooney record his first 1,000-yard season with a team-leading 1,055 receiving yards and four touchdowns. In 2020, Jackson helped guide Allen Robinson II to lead all Bears receivers for the second-straight season with 102 receptions, 1,213 yards and six touchdowns, eclipsing 100 receptions for the first time in his career. It marked the first 100-catch season by a Bears wide receiver since 2013.
Jackson worked with the Bears in 2019 as a defensive assistant under coordinator Chuck Pagano after previously assisting the Bears during training camp in 2018 through the fellowship program. Prior to his time in Chicago, he served as the wide receivers coach at Liberty High School in Peoria, Ariz.
As a player, Jackson spent time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1998), Seattle Seahawks (1999), Tennessee Titans (2000), Green Bay Packers (2002-03) and Miami Dolphins (2003). Jackson also played several seasons in the Arena Football League where he was a standout wide receiver and the AFL Rookie of the Year in 2000 with the L.A. Avengers. He helped lead the Philadelphia Soul to an Arena Bowl XXII championship in 2008, recording 140 receptions for 1,692 yards and 49 touchdowns. Jackson totaled 325 receiving touchdowns in his AFL career, a mark that is still second all-time in league history.
"I know Texas is football," Jackson added. "That's what I do know, and that's coming from a California kid. I knew people back in the day never left Texas, especially if you were one of the top players in Texas, that's where you went. I want to play a role in helping Coach Sark and the staff continue to get back to that aspect, where Texas is the only place these Texas kids want to go. Austin is an awesome city. My oldest son went to St. Edwards for two years, so I got an opportunity to get him situated there and look around. I'm very much drawn to the city, the lake, and downtown is beautiful. I'm just excited to be a part of that and helping to continue to grow the tradition of Texas."
Jackson played collegiately at Orange Coast College in 1995 before transferring to Washington State. In both 1996 and 1997, Jackson was a starter for the Cougars and a teammate of current Texas assistant coach Jeff Banks. In 1997, he recorded 54 catches for 1,005 yards and 11 touchdowns to earn honorable mention All-Pac 10 honors, helping the Cougars to a Pac-10 co-championship and a trip to the Rose Bowl. The 11 receiving touchdowns is still a top-10 single-season mark in Washington State history, tying for seventh. After his collegiate career, Jackson signed with the Buccaneers in 1998, and following his professional career, Jackson was a physical education teacher before going into special education and then sales and merchandising.
In 2020, Jackson was inducted into the California Community College Football Coaches Association (CCCFCA) Hall of Fame. A native of Santa Ana, Calif., Jackson attended Mater Dei High School. He and his wife, Michelle, have three children: Almani, Deyton and Justus.
