Missouri State University has announced the hiring of John Scott as assistant football coach for defensive ends, effective March 20.
Scott has been an assistant coach at Western Carolina University since 2006 where he was defensive ends and outside linebacker coach under former head coach Kent Briggs from 2006-07, and most recently as defensive line coach under current head coach Dennis Wagner for the 2008 campaign. He was the only assistant coach retained at WCU during the head coaching transition between the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
"We had a great pool of applicants, and we're very pleased with the caliber of coach we got in John Scott," said Missouri State head coach Terry Allen. "He's very knowledgable about the game of football, but more importantly, he's a great person. We're very excited about having him in Springfield."
Scott's career has also included a stop at Norfolk State where he was defensive line coach in 2005, and helped the Spartans to a No. 12 national ranking in passing defense at just over 158 yards per game. He was a graduate assistant at Louisiana-Lafayette from 2003-04, where he was a defensive line assistant, special teams coordinator during the two-year stint. He completed his Master of Education at Louisana-Lafayette in 2006.
The Omaha, Neb., native also has experience at the high school level, working as defensive line coach at Lexington N.C.’s West Davidson High School in 2001. He was selected from a pool of 400 applicants to participate in the NCAA’s Minority Coaches Academy which he attended and completed in 2008.
He is a 2000 graduate of Western Carolina where he was a four-year letterman. In 1998, he racked up 17 tackles for loss and claimed Second Team All-Southern Conference honors at defensive end. He tallied 59 tackles, tops among defensive linemen, in addition to 11 TFL’s. He holds a bachelor of science in communications and is 10th all-time on the Catamounts’ career tackles for loss.
After completing his degree, he played three years of professional football, including two years with the Greensboro (N.C.) Prowlers of Arena Football League 2 from 2000-01 where he was named the team’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2000. He was also in preseason camp with the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes.
"It's an exciting opportunity to be here at Missouri State," said Scott. "Getting the opportunity to work for a legendary coach like Coach Allen is very exciting. It's a great work environment with great facilities and definitely a place you can win and grow as a coach."
Scott is married to the former Stephanie McKoy, who is also a 2000 graduate of WCU. The couple are proud parents of son John III (4) and daughter Juliette, who will turn two in May.
Scott’s hiring is contingent upon final approval by the Missouri State University Board of Governors at its next meeting on April 3.
