First 6 assistant coaches announced

[PonyPride]

DALLAS, TEXAS - New SMU football coach Phil Bennett announced the hiring of six coaches to his staff today. Jerry Bennett, Larry Edmondson, Eric Roark and Bob Stanley have joined the Mustang program while Oscar Giles and Johnny Ringo have been retained from the previous coaching staff.

"I am excited about the type of staff that we are putting together," Phil Bennett said. "All six of those guys have great ties to high school coaches here in Texas and I am very familiar with all of their work. I have worked with Jerry, Larry, Eric and Bob previously so they know my style and that should enable us to hit the ground running. Oscar and Johnny have done some very good things in their two years at SMU and they will provide some continuity to the staff."

Jerry Bennett, the brother of Phil, will coach running backs at SMU after a legendary coaching career at Jefferson High School in Jefferson, Texas. He compiled a 147-55-5 record 19 years there while producing more than 20 Division IA players. The Marshall, Texas native was named District Coach of the Year nine times and was the Texas High School Coach of the Year in 1986 when he led his team to the state title with a 16-0 record.

Edmondson has spent the last three years as the offensive coordinator and
quarterbacks coach at Louisiana Lafayette and will serve in the same capacity at SMU. He helped the ULL offense set six school records last season and is credited with the development of sophomore quarterback Jon Van Cleave, who led the Sun Belt Conference in passing yards per game a year ago. Edmondson has also served on the staffs at Auburn, Mississippi State, Louisiana State, Southern Mississippi, Arizona and Texas A&M. The Snyder, Texas native played tight end at Texas A&M and graduated in 1983.

Roark, who will coach defensive backs at SMU, served as a graduate assistant
in football administration at Tennessee last season. He was the defensive
backs coach at Tennessee Tech from 1997-2000, the wide receivers coach at
Middle Tennessee State from 1989-1997 and has also coached at Murray State,
Iowa State, San Diego State and Southeastern Oklahoma State during his 18
years in the business. He was a graduate assistant under Phil Bennett at Iowa State in 1986 and also has 16 years experience working with special teams units. He played football at Oklahoma State under Jimmy Johnson and graduated from the school in 1984.

Stanley will serve as offensive line coach at SMU after coaching at Kansas State in 2001 as offensive tackles/tight ends coach. His 33-year coaching career includes college stops as an offensive line coach at Temple, Akron, Purdue (also offensive coordinator), Texas, Vanderbilt, TCU and Texas A&M and high school stops in Texas and Ohio. He graduated from the University of Texas in 1968.

Giles has been at SMU since the 2000 season, coaching defensive ends his first season and the defensive line last season. He will coach defensive ends under Phil Bennett. Giles, who graduated from the University of Texas in 1991 and was an All-Southwest Conference selection as a senior, played defensive end and linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons from 1991-93 and played in the Canadian Football League with the Toronto Argonauts from 1994-97.

Ringo also joined the Mustang staff for the 2000 season, serving as wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator the last two years. He will continue in his role as recruiting coordinator while moving over to coach tight ends. Prior to SMU, Ringo compiled a 47-26-2 record in seven seasons as a high school head coach in Texas.

[HorsePower]

Jerry Bennett is supposed to be a legend in East Texas. Hopefully he'll be able to recruit like a madman out there.

[smu'06]

Can't wait for the Mania to come back to Mustang Football - hopefully over the next four years.

[Guest]

I like the Roark and Stanley hires the best. Don't know any more than what's listed above, but it never hurts to have more coaches with experience in big successful programs. And there's still Giles and Ringo, who played at Texas. That was always one of my complaints about the previous regime - too many coaches from Valdosta State, Appalachain State, Suburban U., etc.