Here’s a look at the career of Joshua Eargle, KU’s acting coach for game at WVU
Joshua Eargle, the man designated to fill in for Les Miles on the sidelines Saturday at West Virginia, has had various duties on the University of Kansas’ football staff the past two seasons.
The 41-year-old former University of Memphis football player and 2001 Memphis graduate is in his first season as tight ends coach and also serves as the Jayhawks’ recruiting coordinator.
A former head coach at East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, Texas (2013-15), Eargle worked as a senior offensive consultant for the Jayhawks and Miles in 2019. It was announced by second-year KU coach Miles on Friday that Eargle would serve as acting head coach during Saturday’s 11 a.m., KU-WVU kickoff, to be shown live on FOX.
On Monday, Eargle and several other KU assistant coaches, spoke to the media, filling in for Miles who reported he tested positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 8. Miles is expected to rejoin the team as head coach Sunday.
“You obviously miss coach Miles. You miss his presence,” Eargle said Monday. “I’ll say that unfortunately we’ve gotten used to Zoom through the quarantine. And so him running the show from a Zoom call, he’s getting everything done. He’s still on top of everything and keeping us all in line and making sure we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing. But he’s rocking and rolling and he’s going about his day.
“He’s just doing it virtually over Zoom. He’s got us lined up and he’s got us all trained up. We know our responsibilities and we’re all digging at those to the best of our ability. But we do miss him here. We miss him in the building. We can’t wait to see him again on game day at West Virginia,” Eargle added Monday.
Before arriving at KU, Eargle spent three seasons at Austin Peay. His duties: interim head coach, offensive coordinator, run game coordinator and offensive line coach.
A native of Waco, Texas, Eargle also has served as a grad assistant at University of Southern Mississippi, offensive line coach at Ouachita Baptist, recruiting coordinator and offensive line coach at Nicholls State, offensive coordinator at Arkansas-Monticello, defensive coordinator at Hallsville (Texas) High School and defensive coordinator at Southeastern Oklahoma State.
He graduated from Memphis in 2001 and earned his Master’s in sports administration from Southern Miss in 2004. His wife, Kristen, founded and hosts a national podcast, “Coach’s Wife Life.” The Eargles have three children — Kourtney, Landrey and Stallings.
The Eargles, according to Josh’s KU bio, “founded the Ruler of Hope foundation, whose mission is to provide support and research to medically fragile children. Following the 2018 season, Eargle won the Rare Disease Champion Award presented by Uplifting Athletes for his work in raising awareness for his young daughter Landrey’s fight against life-threatening illnesses.”
EARGLE AT A GLANCE
Here’s the coaching experience of KU acting head coach Joshua Eargle:
2020-Current - Kansas Assistant Coach-Tight Ends/Recruiting Coordinator
2019-20 - Kansas Senior Analyst
2016-18 - Austin Peay Offensive Coordinator
2013-15 - East Texas Baptist Head Coach
2012 - Southeastern Oklahoma State Defensive Coordinator
2011 - Hallsville HS (Texas) Defensive Coordinator
2010 - Arkansas-Monticello Offensive Coordinator
2009 - LSU Quality Control
2007-08 - Nicholls State Offensive Line/Recruiting Coordinator
2006 - Southern Miss Quality Control
2005 - Oachita Baptist Offensive Line
2003-04 - Southern Miss Graduate Assistant
This story was originally published October 16, 2020 at 1:18 PM with the headline "Here’s a look at the career of Joshua Eargle, KU’s acting coach for game at WVU."
