Football
Jennings, Clay
Clay Jennings
- Title:
- Assistant Coach, Safeties
- Email:
- UNTFootball@unt.edu
- Alma Mater:
- North Texas, 1997
North Texas letterman Clay Jennings returned to the UNT Football staff as safeties coach in January 2023. He was previously on staff from 2019-20 as cornerbacks coach.
Jennings served as defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator at Texas State in 2022. He was cornerbacks and nickels coach at UNLV in 2021.
One of the top secondary coaches in the country, Jennings arrived in Denton after spending the 2018 season on staff as the defensive backs coach at Texas Tech. Prior to his arrival in Lubbock, he was the co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach at Houston in 2017.
Jennings, who has spent 19 of his 27 years coaching in the state of Texas, also had stints a prior stint at Houston (2005-06) as well as Texas (2016), TCU (2008-13), Baylor (2007), and Sam Houston State (2001-02).
Jennings has been a part of several top defensive units in the country, from Arkansas in 2015, where the Razorbacks ranked 11th in the nation in scoring and total defensive, to TCU, which had three nation-leading defenses for three straight years from 2008 to 2010.
Jennings has tutored numerous NFL draft picks and free-agent selections during his career, including Tevin Mitchel (Arkansas), Alan Turner (Arkansas), Jason Verrett (TCU), Kevin White (TCU), Greg McCoy (TCU), Malcolm Williams (TCU), Rafael Priest (TCU), C.C. Brown (Louisiana), Michael Adams (Louisiana), Antwain Spann (Louisiana), Keith Davis (Sam Houston) and Jordan Babineaux (Southern Arkansas).
A 1997 UNT graduate, Jennings was a four-year letterwinner during his playing career at North Texas (1992-95) where he was part of the Mean Green’s Southland Conference championship team in 1994. He began his coaching experience at North Texas as a student assistant in 1996.
He and his wife, Belinda, are the parents to two kids, Kirby and Kenzie.
Coaching History
1996: UNT, student assistant
1997: UNT, graduate assistant
1998: Morehouse College, secondary
1999: Morningside College, secondary
2000: Southern Arkansas, secondary
2001-02: Sam Houston State, secondary/recruiting coordinator
2003-04: Louisiana, secondary
2005-06: Houston, safeties
2007: Baylor, corners
2008-13: TCU, corners
2014-15: Arkansas, secondary
2016: Texas, defensive backs
2017: Houston, co-defensive coordinator/secondary
2018: Texas tech, defensive backs
2019-20: UNT, corners
2021: UNLV, corners and nickels
2022: Texas State, passing game coordinator/defensive backs
2023-: UNT, safeties
Jennings served as defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator at Texas State in 2022. He was cornerbacks and nickels coach at UNLV in 2021.
One of the top secondary coaches in the country, Jennings arrived in Denton after spending the 2018 season on staff as the defensive backs coach at Texas Tech. Prior to his arrival in Lubbock, he was the co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach at Houston in 2017.
Jennings, who has spent 19 of his 27 years coaching in the state of Texas, also had stints a prior stint at Houston (2005-06) as well as Texas (2016), TCU (2008-13), Baylor (2007), and Sam Houston State (2001-02).
Jennings has been a part of several top defensive units in the country, from Arkansas in 2015, where the Razorbacks ranked 11th in the nation in scoring and total defensive, to TCU, which had three nation-leading defenses for three straight years from 2008 to 2010.
Jennings has tutored numerous NFL draft picks and free-agent selections during his career, including Tevin Mitchel (Arkansas), Alan Turner (Arkansas), Jason Verrett (TCU), Kevin White (TCU), Greg McCoy (TCU), Malcolm Williams (TCU), Rafael Priest (TCU), C.C. Brown (Louisiana), Michael Adams (Louisiana), Antwain Spann (Louisiana), Keith Davis (Sam Houston) and Jordan Babineaux (Southern Arkansas).
A 1997 UNT graduate, Jennings was a four-year letterwinner during his playing career at North Texas (1992-95) where he was part of the Mean Green’s Southland Conference championship team in 1994. He began his coaching experience at North Texas as a student assistant in 1996.
He and his wife, Belinda, are the parents to two kids, Kirby and Kenzie.
Coaching History
1996: UNT, student assistant
1997: UNT, graduate assistant
1998: Morehouse College, secondary
1999: Morningside College, secondary
2000: Southern Arkansas, secondary
2001-02: Sam Houston State, secondary/recruiting coordinator
2003-04: Louisiana, secondary
2005-06: Houston, safeties
2007: Baylor, corners
2008-13: TCU, corners
2014-15: Arkansas, secondary
2016: Texas, defensive backs
2017: Houston, co-defensive coordinator/secondary
2018: Texas tech, defensive backs
2019-20: UNT, corners
2021: UNLV, corners and nickels
2022: Texas State, passing game coordinator/defensive backs
2023-: UNT, safeties
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