Winning in the regular season oftentimes means losing in the offseason.
After guiding Austin Peay into the Football Championship Subdivision's AFCA Top 25 throughout much of the 2025 season and securing the program's first win against an Football Bowls Subdivision team since the 1980s, Jeff Faris helped the Govs post a seven-win campaign that fell just short of an FCS Playoffs berth.
He retained his star quarterback, All-United Athletic Conference first-teamer Chris Parson, and held onto several additional key starters on both sides of the ball.
But that winning also brought some staff turnover. Former ETSU head coach and ex-Furman offensive coordinator George Quarles, Austin Peay's tight ends coach in 2024-25, departed to take over at prestigious Webb School in Knoxville, Tennessee, while DeOn'tae Pannell left his defensive line post to join the staff at his alma mater, Penn State, and most recently, cornerbacks coach Rodney Saulsberry exited earlier this week for a job on Charles Huff's inaugural Memphis Tigers staff.
Faris has completed his staff reorganization, FootballScoop has learned.
Brandon Williams, the Govs' linebackers coach in the 2024-25 seasons, is being elevated to the position of defensive running game coordinator, sources told FootballScoop.
A former All-American Athletic Conference defender at East Carolina, where he made 41 appearances in a four-year career that saw him amass 124 tackles and 13.5 tackles for loss in his senior season, Williams also is moving to coach cornerbacks for the Govs.
Second-year defensive coordinator Greg Jones will continue to orchestrate the defense and also coach the linebackers, FootballScoop has learned.
Arriving from Tennessee Tech a year ago to run the Austin Peay defense, Jones helped the program show year-over-year improvement in points allowed per game, rushing yards per game and total first downs allowed.
Austin Peay is scheduled to open Year 3 under Faris on Sept. 5, 2026, at Clark Lea's Vanderbilt Commodores program, which is coming off that program's all-time winning season (10 games) and its highest ranking since 1948.
Vanderbilt will be retooling its roster following the exits of several key starters on both sides of the ball, including tight end Eli Stowers -- projected as an early-round NFL Draft pick, as well as Heisman Trophy runner-up quarterback Diego Pavia.
Following the game at Vanderbilt, Austin Peay makes its home debut against Morehead State before it travels to perennial FCS powerhouse North Dakota State for a massive early-season intersectional clash with FCS Playoffs implications.