Rudy Griffin played college football at its highest level, completing his playing career at the University of Alabama after starting out for two seasons at Football Championship Subdivision program The Citadel.
Now Griffin, steadily climbing the coaching ranks, is taking another significant career step.
Sources tell FootballScoop that the former Crimson Tide starter Griffin is going to be the co-defensive coordinator and assistant head coach for Jason Simpson's UT-Martin Skyhawks.
On the UT-Martin staff the past two seasons as the program's defensive line coach, Griffin helps replace outgoing coordinator Jerry Partridge, who was hired earlier this month as the next head coach at Northwestern Oklahoma State.
In Griffin, Simpson is able to maintain some staff continuity and elevate a coach who's proven deft at developing talent along the front lines at Northern Arizona, briefly at West Georgia and for two seasons with the Skyhawks.
Griffin also has prep coaching experience in his native Georgia, as well as in the high school ranks in Alabama and early FCS experience at Idaho State.
As co-defensive coordinator, Griffin will team with TJ Jefferson to run the Skyhawks defense. Jefferson is among the longest-serving assistants in Simpson's program and also coaches the team's linebackers. He's a former top UT-Martin player under Simpson and also got coaching experience at FBS program University of Memphis before returning to his alma mater.
Simpson is one of the longest-tenured head coaches at any level of college football. He's helmed the UT-Martin program for the past 20 seasons and amassed nearly 130 career wins in the process.
Of late, Simpson's UT-Martin program has found its strongest success in his two decades as head coach. Simpson has guided the Skyhawks to 40 wins in the past five seasons, twice leading them into the FCS Playoffs and also twice earning conference coach of the year honors.