As App State football deals with a coaching change for the second straight season, head coach Shawn Clark has filled several assistant coaching positions.

Dale Jones, who was part of the Mountaineer staff for 23 years from 1996-2018, was named former defensive coordinator Ted Roof’s replacement after Roof took the same job at Vanderbilt.

“I’m thrilled to be back at App State, where I’ve spent 23 of the last 24 years,” Jones said in a press release. “I love the culture of App State and love this community. I can’t wait to help build a great staff, hit the recruiting trail and continue to bring my aggressive style of play to the field.”

During his first stint with App State, Jones coached 11 all-Americans, 22 all-conference selections and 12 players that went on to play in the NFL. Across his 23 seasons with the Mountaineers, Jones spent time as a defensive line coach, special teams coordinator, linebackers coach and defensive coordinator.

“He loves App State Football and knows what it takes to win championships here,” Clark said in a press release. “Under his leadership, we will continue to develop a championship-level defense that has been one of the hallmarks of this program.”

In 2019, Jones was a member of former Mountaineer head coach Scott Satterfield’s staff at Louisville. He served as the inside linebackers coach for the Cardinals. Satterfield was named the ACC Coach of the Year for helping lead the Cardinals to an 8-5 record and Music City Bowl win over Mississippi State. Louisville went 2-10 in 2018 before Satterfield and his staff arrived.

Jones played linebacker for the Tennessee Volunteers from 1983-1986, where he was an all-American and two-time All-SEC selection.

Clark also named James Rowe as a defensive assistant coach. Rowe spent the last three seasons as a defensive backs assistant with the Washington Redskins.

“I’m excited to be joining the App Family,” Rowe said in a press release. “The success of the App State program has always stood out to me, and I can’t wait to do my part to help continue that success.”

Prior to his work with Washington, Rowe made stops at Valdosta State as defensive coordinator, Florida as a graduate assistant, Jacksonville University in several different roles and Bethel University in Tennessee as a graduate assistant.

Cortney Braswell was also tabbed as a defensive assistant coach for App State. In 2019, Braswell was a defensive quality control coach for Satterfield at Louisville. Before that, Braswell was a high school head coach in Georgia and Tennessee.

“I have so much respect for the championship culture at App State and fond memories of bringing my high school teams here for training camp and talking football with guys like Dale Jones, (and former App State coaches) Nate Woody and Bryan Brown,” Braswell said in a press release.

Clark also named former Mountaineer coach Mark DeBastiani as another defensive assistant coach. He coached defensive tackles at App State from 1995-1996, while Clark was a member of the offensive line.