Josh Linam is entering his second season in 2020 after John Grass hired him to coach the Jacksonville State linebackers in 2019.
His first season saw sophomore Zack Woodard earn All-Ohio Valley Conference honors in leading the Gamecocks in tackles.
Linam served the 2017 season on the defensive staff at Temple University and then was the head coach of the Monash Warriors in Melbourne, Australia in the spring of 2018. He most recently worked with the Orlando Apollos of the Alliance of American Football during their training camp.
Linam joined Apollos for training camp after spending the 2018 season with the Warriors of the Gridiron Victoria League in Australia.
In 2017, he was a defensive analyst on a Temple team that went 7-6 and posted a win over Florida International in the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl. That 2017 team also led the American Athletic Conference in interceptions, was second in passing defense and third in total defense, while having an FBS-best five players with 10 or more tackles for a loss.
Linam went to Temple from the University of Florida, where he spent the 2016 season as a defensive graduate assistant coach under Geoff Collins, who later took Linam with him when he accepted to head coaching job at Temple.
Prior to Florida, Linam spent the 2015 season as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, UCF. He previously played four seasons at linebacker where he was a two-year starter for the Knights, and registered 165 tackles, three sacks, six pass breakups, and three interceptions from 2008 through 2011. Linam also earned recognition for his effort in the classroom, becoming a two-time Conference USA All-Academic and ESPN/COSIDA Academic All-District selection, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sports and fitness.
After graduating from UCF, he signed with the San Diego Chargers as a free agent and then spent time with the Miami Dolphins in the summer of 2012.
In 2014, Linam served as the linebackers coach at Division III Huntington College. His three starting linebackers - Zach Brownell (99), Jacob Wright (85), and Jake Green (75) - finished in the top-three on the team in tackles. The tackling trio also combined for 25.5 TFLs, 5.0 sacks, four interceptions, three fumble recoveries, and two forced fumbles.
Brownell had his best season under Linam, earning him the USA South Conference Defensive Player of the Year honor and first-team all-region and all-conference honors, to go with a D3football.com All-American honorable mention.
Linam has a daughter, Triniti, who is eight.
