Former Power Five coach Klenakis lands at FAMU as new offensive line coach
By St. Clair Murraine
Outlook staff writer
When FAMU resumes playing football next spring for its final season in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, the Rattlers will have a new offensive line coach.
Coach Willie Simmons reached for the top shelf when he decided to hire Chris Klenakis, who not too long ago was coaching on the Power Five level.
He replaces Alex Jackson, who left in July for Tennessee where he is an offensive analyst and assistant offensive line coach.
Simmons confirmed the hire last week. Responsibilities for the 56-year-old coach will also include coordinating the Rattlers’ run game.
Ironically, Jackson was one of the first people to bring Klenakis to Simmons’ attention. He and former running back coach Joe Henry said plenty of good things about Klenakis, Simmons said.
He was hired from a field of seven other applicants, Simmons said. The interview process included his entire staff for the hire that Simmons called his most important since taking over the football program three seasons ago.
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FAMU captured the Black college national title last season when it went 9-2. The Rattlers will switch league after the spring schedule to play in the SWAC next fall.
“The hire was so critical for our continued success that I didn’t just want to make a rash decision,” Simmons said. “We took our time. We vetted a lot of guys and did our due diligence to make sure we got the right guy here.”
The hire put Klenakis on the same staff with associate head coach James Spady. Klenakis was an at Nevada in the early 1990s and Spady coached there from 2010 to 2013.
Klenakis was co-offensive coordinator at Louisville when the Cardinals’ quarterback Lamar Jackson won the Heisman Trophy in 2016. His other stops before coming to FAMU included Southern Mississippi, Central Missouri, Arkansas and Iowa State.
Klenakis was on campus for workouts last week and he has already made an impression with the players, Simmons said.
“I feel lucky, but really blessed to have a guy with K’s knowledge, his experience,” Simmons said. “His resume is second to none.
“We are excited. I know the young men are excited to meet with him and work with him the last couple days.”
