Jim Jackson enters his second season as a Harvard Football assistant coach in 2025, and coaches the Crimson offensive line.
Jackson, who played football and baseball at fellow Ivy League member Cornell, brings a wealth of knowledge to Cambridge having coached at nine different collegiate programs (Methodist College, Lehigh, Toledo, Louisiana-Lafayette, Minnesota, Southern Illinois, San Diego, UMass, Rice) during his career.
In his first season at Harvard, Jackson helped the Crimson captured its second straight Ivy League championship. The offensive line helped the unit rank second nationally in fewest passes intercepted, 10th in team passing efficiency, 15th in passing offense, 21st in scoring offense and 31st in total offense. Jackson and the O-line's work was rewarded at the end of the season as eight offensive players were named All-Ivy, including offensive linemen Mike Entwistle (first team) and Austin Gentle (second team).
Jackson arrived at Harvard following a 2023 campaign spent as an offensive line coach and run-game coordinator at Cypress Spring (Texas) High in the Houston area, where he helped the Panthers double their win total from the previous season, finishing the campaign with an 8-3 record.
Prior to his successful stint at Cypress Springs, Jackson coached the tight ends at Rice for two seasons. During his time with the Owls, he helped the program increase their win total each year from the season before, with the 2022 campaign culminating in a LendingTree Bowl appearance.
No stranger to the Commonwealth, Jackson spent two years at UMass where he coached the offensive line. In 2019, Jackson rebuilt a unit that lost four of five starters from 2018, but still managed to cut its sacks allowed by 69.2 percent. The 2020 season, meanwhile, was affected by the global pandemic.
Before his stint with the Minutemen, Jackson was on staff for five seasons at San Diego, where he served as its offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator. During his time in America’s Finest City, USD went 47-13, including a near-flawless 38-2 in Pioneer Football League action, and reached the NCAA FCS Playoffs four times (2014, 2016, 2017, 2018). The Toreros posted nine wins or more in each of Jackson’s five years in Linda Vista and went 8-0 in PFL play during the 2016-18 campaigns. Individually, Jackson helped Daniel Cooney (OL) become a three-time All-American and Michael Bandy (WR) collect five All-America awards.
Ahead of his time at USD, Jackson served as the tight ends coach at Southern Illinois (2010-13) for four seasons and added recruiting coordinator to his duties for his final two years. Under Jackson’s tutelage, MyCole Pruitt became the school’s all-time leader in career receptions and receiving yards by a tight end and finished his time as a two-time All-American.
Jackson’s time in the Midwest began at Minnesota where he served as an assistant offensive line coach from 2007-09. His stint in Minneapolis, which began with the Gophers ranking 10th nationally in fewest sacks allowed, came on the heels of a one-year stint at Louisiana-Lafayette as a defensive graduate assistant (2006), working with the defensive line.
Jackson spent the 2005 season as a graduate assistant (video coordinator/offensive line) at Toledo, one year after he served as an assistant defensive backs coach and assistant video coordinator at Lehigh in 2004. He started his coaching career in 2003 as an outside linebackers coach at Methodist (N.C.) College.
Jackson played two seasons of football at Cornell and was a three-year starter for the baseball team. He also served as team captain for Cornell Baseball before receiving his bachelor's degree in communications in 2003. Jackson earned his master's degree from Minnesota in sports management in 2009.
