North Texas Daily

The North Texas Mean Green football coaching staff filled two vacancies after naming two former football players as assistant coaches Monday morning.

Patrick Cobbs, former Mean Green running back and current member of the North Texas Athletics Hall of Fame, was named the running backs coach, while Clay Jennings was named the defensive backs coach.

When Cobbs played for North Texas from 2001-05 , he was the first Mean Green player to win the national rushing title and Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2003. Cobbs spent the previous five seasons as the running backs coach at Denton Ryan High School and will replace former running backs coach Tashard Choice, who departed for Georgia Tech last December.

In a statement officially announcing the hire, head coach Seth Littrell said he was looking forward to Cobbs joining the Mean Green.

“I’m very excited to bring Patrick Cobbs into our program as a running backs coach,” Littrell said. “He has an incredible understanding of the position, but more than that, he has been coached by some of the best coaches in the game and has developed a keen understanding of how to teach and communicate his knowledge.”

After leaving as one of the best running backs at North Texas, Cobbs was signed by the New England Patriots in 2006 and played in 54 games with the Miami Dolphins throughout his career. Cobbs played under six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick.

“The fact that he is one of the best to ever play the position at North Texas and he had a successful NFL career, gives him the credentials that everyone in our running backs room will respect,” Littrell said in a press release. “He is the perfect candidate for this position and I can’t wait to get him started.”

Jennings played defensive back for the Mean Green’s 1994 Southland Conference Championship run and served as a graduate assistant for North Texas in 1997. Since his departure from Denton, Jennings has made stops at several Power 5 schools, including Baylor, Arkansas, Texas and most recently Texas Tech, where he served as the defensive backs coach under Kliff Kingsbury. Jennings will replace Nate Brown, who left the team after last season.

The only vacancy left to fill on the North Texas staff is offensive coordinator, although Littrell will call plays next season for the first time since coming to North Texas, according to Brett McMurphy.

Featured Image: Patrick Cobbs, inducted into UNT’s hall of fame in 2010, was just announced as the new runnings backs coach. Courtesy Mean Green Sports .