Simpson, UT-Martin hiring two staffers away from Kansas for defensive, offensive roles
There’s annual rite of passage for University of Tennessee Martin coach Jason Simpson.
The raiding, and subsequent replenishing, of Simpson’s Skyhawks staff.
After all, Simpson – among the most-tenured coaches in all of college football with an Ohio Valley Conference-best 16 seasons completed atop the Martin program – has seen his assistants routinely depart his small, FCS program tucked in rural northwest Tennessee for jobs at Alabama, Florida State, Tennessee and the NFL in recent years.
He lost multiple staff members this cycle to opportunities at Florida International after the Skyhawks completed a record-breaking season that culminated in the second round of the FCS Playoffs.
Now, Simpson has made hires on both sides of the ball to get back to a full-strength staff. Almost.
Simpson has added AC Carter to coach the Skyhawks’ defensive line and tabbed Travis Partridge to work with quarterbacks and the passing game, sources confirmed to FootballScoop.
Both Carter and Partridge most recently were on staff at Kansas.
Partridge is a former star quarterback at Missouri Western who had a brief NFL career and also played in the Canadian Football League.
Their additions give Simpson just one spot left to fill; per NCAA rules, the Skyhawks can add a restricted-earnings coach, a position that will work with running backs.
