Jeff Durden spent four years as the Mocs' offensive coordinator under head coach Russ Huesman. He joined UTC in January of 2013 after spending the previous nine years as the offensive coordinator at James Madison.
The Mocs have put up some impressive offensive numbers under Durden’s watch. He guided Jacob Huesman to three straight Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors (2013-15), while UTC set a school record for scoring (34.7 ppg) in 2014. The Mocs' 34.2 ppg in 2016 was second-highest in school history.
Huesman owns nearly every individual offensive record in the Mocs’ book and was an All-American following his senior year in 2015. His replacement, Alejandro Bennifield, threw 26 TD passes in 2016. The second-highest total in school history.
Only 35 times in FCS history have teammates rushed for 1,000 yards in the same season, but the Mocs did it twice with Durden. Both Derrick Craine (1,251) and Huesman (1,244) topped 1,000 yards in 2015, while Huesman (1,009) and Keon Williams (1,037) did it in 2014.
UTC was third in the SoCon behind triple-option teams The Citadel and Wofford, and No. 11 in the nation, in rushing yards (241.9) in 2015. It is the highest per game average since 266.0 in 1979.
The Mocs posted some impressive offensive numbers in 2014, finishing No. 24 in the FCS with 210.8 rushing yards per game and No. 6 in the country with a 154.76 team passer rating.
As the offensive coordinator at JMU, Durden helped guide the Dukes to the 2004 FCS National Championship. James Madison posted a winning record in each of his nine seasons, advancing to the FCS playoffs five times.
Durden’s JMU teams ranked in the FCS top-20 in rushing yards eight times. The Dukes accumulated more than 400 yards per game four times and averaged more than 28 points per game six times in his nine campaigns calling plays.
Durden has coached many top quarterbacks during his career, including former Walter Payton Award runner-up Rodney Landers. He was the CAA Player of the Year and National Player of the Year runner-up in 2008.
Prior to joining James Madison, Durden gained experience in the SoCon as an assistant coach at VMI from 1999-03. He was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Keydets his last two years in Lexington, Va. VMI set team season records for points in 2002 and points and total offense in 2003.
From 1995-98, Durden was the offensive coordinator at Morehead State. In 1997, the Eagles led the FCS in scoring and were second in the nation in total offense. Durden also coached at California (Pa.), West Georgia and Georgetown (Ky.) earlier in his career.
As a student-athlete, Durden was an all-conference defensive back at Georgetown (Ky.) where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Education in 1988. He also holds a Master’s in Education from West Georgia (1991). He has a son, Jakob (22), and a daughter, Hannah (19), who is a sophomore on the Mocs soccer team.
Updated January 2017.
