Steve Buckley returns for a ninth season in Ellisville as the Bobcats' head football coach.
Buckley has led Jones to a combined 56-19 record, four division titles, bowl victory and Top 10 national ranking in all eight seasons. His .746 win percentage is second-best in program history and his 56 wins are third-most.
The Bobcats missed the playoffs last season after going 6-3, just the second time in his tenure.
Jones posted back-to-back eight-win seasons in 2021 and 2022, after starting 7-0 in both, and being ranked as high as No. 1 and No. 4.
Buckley and his staff have been instrumental in developing kids and getting them to the next level. An impressive 152 Bobcats have moved on to four-year programs and 96 percent have graduated under his watch.
Buckley has coached 17 NJCAA All-Americans, dozens of all-conference players, two NFL first-rounders and a two-time national champion in former Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett IV.
Running back Robert Henry (UTSA) was named the winner of the inaugural 2022 Walter Jones Trophy as the nation's top Division I junior college football player. He was also named the NJCAA Division I Offensive Player of the Year.
Jones shocked the junior college world in 2021, going from unranked in the preseason to No. 1 in the NJCAA poll for the first time in program history. The Bobcats opened the year with seven straight wins before a pair of Top 15 losses to finish 8-2 and ranked 8th in the final poll.
Buckley, the 2021 MACCC South Division Coach of the Year, helped manage a Top 15 offense and defense in the country, including fourth in rushing yards (2,206) and first in interceptions (22).
Ranked No. 4 to start the 2019 season, Buckley led Jones to a 7-3 record and third straight trip to the conference playoffs. Jones had the NJCAA's top scoring defense at 11.8 points per game, led the league with 12 All-MACCC selections and had a league-best four NJCAA All-Americans.
In 2018, Buckley guided Jones to its first 10-win season since 2001. The Bobcats won their second straight MACCC South Division title and defeated Eastern Arizona 27-7 in the Mississippi Bowl.
Named the MACCC South Division Coach of Year and the Mississippi Association (MAC) Coach of the Year, Buckley led Jones to an 8-2 record in 2017 and a south division title. Buckley was 6-3 in his first season in 2016.
Buckley served as head coach at Petal High School from 2007-11, making the 6A state playoffs four times, and was an assistant coach at Southern Miss on three separate occasions. He was head coach at Olive Branch High School in 2015.
The 1985 Southern Miss graduate began his coaching career as an assistant at Petal before becoming a graduate assistant at his alma mater for the 1988 and 1989 campaigns. He then became a full-time coach for the Golden Eagles in 1990.
Buckley then went on to work for four seasons at LSU (1991-94) before taking over at George County High School in Lucedale. During his time there, Buckley was named the District Coach of the Year and was a South State finalist.
He then returned to Southern Miss for another stint as an assistant coach from 1997-99, serving as running backs coach.
After starting a business, Buckley became head coach for five seasons at Petal, where he led his team to the Mississippi Class 6A State Championship game during the 2011 season. The Panthers reached the playoffs four times and were region champions twice during Buckley’s tenure.
Buckley, a Natchez native, then returned to Southern Miss where he served as an assistant coach in 2012-13. In 2012, he was assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterback coach. In 2013, Buckley was assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator.
Buckley is married to the former Kristi Fairley and the couple has two adult children, Slade, an assistant coach on the Bobcats' football staff, and Annaleigh, a former Ole Miss Rebelette.
