Jerry Mack
Hosts: Ty Hildenbrandt & Dan Rubenstein Guest: Jerry Mack — Head Coach, Kennesaw State Owls Date: April 7, 2026
[!note] Context Questions sourced from The Solid Verbal community at Verballers.com. In 2025, Mack's first season, Kennesaw State went from 2-10 to 10 wins and a Conference USA championship — one of the most dramatic single-season turnarounds in recent FBS history.
Key Themes from the Interview
Spring 2026 Focus Areas
- Defense: Tackling improvement (was a problem down the stretch in 2025)
- Offense: More consistency sustaining drives; leaned too heavily on big plays in 2025
- Special teams: Improve across all phases, mostly personnel-driven
- Player load management: Keeping guys healthy through a long season
Jerry Mack
"We didn't want to be a team that's a one-year wonder."
Roster Stability in a Portal World
Mack's approach to maintaining stability when rosters turn over constantly:
- Player personnel department — maintain lists of "suspects" (likely portal entries) at every position year-round
- High school players as culture-setters — these are the guys you might keep for 2-3-4 years; they set the standard that transfers walk into
- Relationship-building — players as the program's best recruiting pitch to the next wave of transfers
Jerry Mack
"While you're here at Kennesaw, however long it is, I want to make it the best experience that you've ever had."
The Schematic Overhaul: Flexbone → Veer-and-Shoot
One of the most dramatic scheme changes in recent FBS history. Mack came from an offensive background and had previously run this same system at Tennessee (top-10 offense in 2021, #1 offense in the country in 2022).
How he sold it: - Track record — showed administration results from Tennessee - Roster evaluation — identified which existing players fit the new system, cut the rest - Brought 12-14 new OL — offensive line coach worked relentlessly in the portal - Got the right QB — decision-maker over arm talent; low turnover is essential to the system
Jerry Mack
"Schematically, understanding what this system does and how it can flip the switch extremely fast — I had seen it before happen. So I wanted to take a similar blueprint."
Transfer Portal Player Profiles
| Position | What Mack looks for |
|---|---|
| QB | Fast processor, good decision-maker; low turnovers > arm talent |
| RB | "Low maintenance" — plug and play; no chasing of off-field issues |
| OL | Tough, gritty, hard-nosed; 6'1"–6'4"; toughness > measurables |
| WR | Need multiple body types — big, small, speed, hands — varied skill sets |
Cultural filter: All personnel decisions include input from the GM, position coaches, coordinators, and even on-campus recruiting staff. If multiple people don't feel good about the person after a visit, they move on fast.
The "Right Place, Right Time" Factors for Kennesaw
When Mack was hired, he cited three things that made it the right move despite a 2-10 record:
- Location — Cobb County, metro Atlanta, near the airport. Access to top Georgia high school talent without a long drive.
- No tradition burden — A 10-year-old program. No "old timers" calling about how things used to be done. Freedom to build his own culture.
- Willing administration — The AD and president wanted to grow and were willing to put resources behind it.
Jerry Mack
"Modern recruits don't know the history of schools they're choosing. If you ask them who played there 10 years ago, they probably couldn't tell you — unless they're in the NFL. That's an advantage for a new program like us."
NFL Lessons Applied to College
- Practice structure — NFL OTAs use limited contact to protect player health. Mack brought this philosophy to college: vary practice volume (high/mid/low days), use sports science and load tracking.
- Roster construction — Thinking like a GM: where are we investing our money by position? Evaluating film like a salary cap analyst (fewer drops with a worse QB > more catches with a better QB).
Biggest Career Failure — 2017 at North Carolina Central
Ahead of a potential 4th conference championship, Mack over-loaded the roster with Power Four drop-down transfers. Went 7-4 — not bad, but below standard. Lesson: athletic talent without cultural fit is a net negative.
Jerry Mack
"If we would have just played some of the younger guys that had been in our program as opposed to going to get transfers that didn't fit culturally, I think we would have been better off."
The Kennesaw Turnover Reality
Key players lost after 2025 championship season: - Top edge rusher → Kansas State - Top receiver → Washington - Starting QB Amari Odom → Syracuse
Mack's framing: these departures are a sign of success, not failure. They advertise Kennesaw as a developer of NFL-caliber talent.
[!note] 2026 Season Context Kennesaw's 3rd year at FBS level, 2nd year in Conference USA. This will be Mack's first season without his entire starting skill group from year one. New QB, new receivers — but coaching staff returns fully and now has a championship trophy to show recruits.
Full Transcript
Welcome to The Solid Verbal.
The Solid Verbal.
Come after me!
I'm a man.
I'm 40.
I've heard so many players say, well, I want to be happy. You want to be happy for a day? Eat a steak.
It's that whoop, whoop.
Dan Rubenstein, welcome back from your trip to the West Coast. How are you?
I'm good. I have lesser burrito quality available to me now that I'm back in the Midwest, but love being back home. Loved eating a bunch of burritos, getting some time on the California coast. Legoland, the San Diego Zoo. I saw, I thought, I guess three pandas, depending on how you technically are gonna index a red panda, which is technically not a... I don't know. I don't know how all of these things are classified, but I don't think there are many actual pandas in the lower 48 here, Ty.
Right. And it was cool to see a panda. I'm generally not a zoo person, but kids wanted to see a panda. So we went, and it was pretty impressive.
[...interview with Coach Jerry Mack begins after the intro segment. Full conversation covers spring football, scheme philosophy, portal strategy, NFL lessons, and program-building at Kennesaw State...]