Bio

Jack Wright, whose teams have won two NJCAA championships, heads into his ninth season at Gulf Coast having won outright or shared the last seven MACCC South titles, extending a new school record.

His 62-15 record gives him the highest winning percentage (.805) for coaches with more than two seasons in school history. His 62 wins are the third most behind fellow national championship winners George Sekul and Steve Campbell.

Wright sent a stunning 32 players from the 2025 team to four-year schools, bringing the total since 2018 to 165. Tyler Henderson, Wright’s 10^th NJCAA All-American, signed to play at Alabama, one of seven to head to Power 4 programs. There were 15 Bulldogs named to the All-MACCC South Team, including five on the First Team. Henderson, offensive lineman Omarion Bender and defensive back Willie Breland were named to the All-NJCAA Region 23 Team.

The 2025 Bulldogs offense rewrote the Gulf Coast record book on the way to a 9-2 record and a berth in the MACCC championship game. Quarterback Landon Varnes led the NJCAA in completions (210), attempts (316), yards (3,296), touchdowns (31) and passing efficiency (177.6). He set the school record for passing yards, yards per attempt, yards per game and touchdown passes. Henderson finished in the top five in school history in receptions (67), receiving yards (1,202) and receiving touchdowns (12).

Wright’s team led the NJCAA in total offense per game (466.1 yards), passing yards (3,452) and passing yards per attempt (10.4).

The 2024 Bulldogs tied East Central for the South Division title. The Bulldogs led the country in total offense (470.0 ypg), ranking fourth in passing yards (266.0) and fifth in rushing (204.0). They were the fifth-highest scoring team in the country (39.8 ppg), with the second-most passing touchdowns and 10th-most rushing scores.

Running back Trey Hall averaged 7.4 yards per rush to tie the school record, finishing with 1,098 yards, the eighth-most. His 109.8 yards were fifth-most, and Hall’s 13 touchdowns were tied for sixth. Quarterback Landon Varnes peppered the record book with accomplishments, including ranking second in touchdowns (27), third in completions (166), fourth in average passing yards (224.2) and fifth in passing yards (2,242). JP Coulter tied for sixth in touchdowns (11) and yards (860).

The 2023 Gulf Coast squad tied Copiah-Lincoln and Jones for the South Division crown. The offense was the third-highest scoring team in the country (38.4 ppg) and ranked fifth in total offense (445.8 ypg). The Bulldogs ranked third in rushing offense (235.6 ypg), scoring 22 touchdowns by air (eighth in NJCAA) and 26 on the ground (fourth). Eli Anderson threw for five touchdowns in a game twice, tied for second-most in school history. Jay Dupree caught four in one game, tied for the most ever, and three in another, tied for third. Dayan Bilbo set a Gulf Coast record by returning kicks for an average of 32.2 yards.

In 2022, the Bulldogs tied with Jones for the South championship and earned the top seed because they won the regular-season matchup. Pat McQuaide led the country in passing yards (2,730), yards per game (273.0) and touchdowns (24). He also had the second-highest marks in school history in passing yards (2,730), total offense (2,839), completion percentage (64.5) and TD passes (24). His four touchdowns against East Mississippi tied for the fourth-most in a game in MGCCC history. Cam Thomas set a record for the longest run from scrimmage in school history with a 99-yard scamper against EMCC, and Keymari Odum’s 61 catches were the third most in a season. Odum led the NCAA with 61 catches and 93.9 receiving yards per game and tied for second in TD catches (10).

The 2021 team was part of a three-way tie for the South championship, missing out on the postseason by tiebreaker. Cam Thomas finished third in the country with 119.0 rushing yards per game, and linebacker Mike Smith was named NJCAA All-American. The Bulldogs sent 16 players to the Next Level, including offensive lineman Percy Lewis and defensive back DeCarlos Nicholson to Mississippi State.

The 2020 team went 5-0 playing a division-only regular-season schedule, and its players ranked high on the national leaderboard. Running back Deondre House averaged 143.8 yards per game to lead the country, and quarterback Philip Short ranked second with 255.7 passing yards per game. Wide receiver Jalen Bracey caught passes for 98.2 yards per game, also second in the country.

The Gulf Coast offense ranked third in total offense (486.0 ypg) and second in passing (285.3). The Regulators allowed just 73.8 yards per game, sixth-best in the country.

Wright brought Gulf Coast its fifth national championship in just his second season, leading the Bulldogs to the 2019 title with a perfect 12-0 season. Wright won the NJCAA Coach of the Year in 2019, as well as the Region 23 and MACJC South versions of the award. Gulf Coast had 11 players make the All-MACJC South team, three make All-Region 23, and two named All-Americans. Safety Jackie Matthews and quarterback Chance Lovertich were named to the NJCAA All-American squad.

The 2019 Gulf Coast team led the country in total defense (191.1 yards per game) and was third in passing defense (128.9 ypg) and fourth in rushing defense (60.9 ypg). The Regulators allowed only 12.3 points per game, second-best in the country. Offensively, the Bulldogs ranked seventh in total offense (440.6 ypg) with a balanced attack that ranked 10th in rushing (202.2 ypg) and 16th in passing (238.4 ypg).

Lovertich was second in the NJCAA in completion percentage (64.5 percent) and fifth in touchdowns (24). He finished his Gulf Coast career 18-0 as a starter and as a freshman helped Gulf Coast lead the MACJC in offense (412.1 yards/game). Lovertich led the nation in quarterback efficiency (184.1), in addition to setting school records for touchdown passes in a game (6) and completion percentage (70.8 percent). The Bulldogs were ninth in the nation in rushing average (5.3 yards/carry) and the defense, which allowed only six touchdown passes all year, ranked fifth in the NJCAA in scoring defense (15.7 points/game).

Wright became the 22nd Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College football coach in December 2017. His Bulldogs went 7-2 in his first season, narrowly missing the playoffs.

Wright came to Gulf Coast with impressive credentials. Wright took over a Northwest Mississippi team that was coming off a 1-8 season and mired in probation and in two years turned it into a national champion.

The Batesville native arrived at Northwest in 2013 and his 2014 team went 4-6 and made the MACJC playoffs his first season, then lost only one game in 2015 on the way to winning the NJCAA championship with a 66-13 win over Rochester in the Mississippi Bowl. He’ll be looking to become the first coach in NJCAA history to win titles at two different schools.

Wright was named NJCAA and Region 23 Coach of the Year following his championship season, after which he left to become offensive line coach at Southern Miss. Gardner Minshew was his quarterback on the national championship team, and he went on to star at East Carolina before transferring to Washington State and finishing fifth in the 2018 Heisman Trophy voting.

In Wright’s time in Senatobia, he coached 41 All-MACJC selections, as well as 13 NJCAA All-Region 23 and nine NJCAA All-American honorees.

It was Wright’s second stint at Northwest. He’d been offensive coordinator and quarterback coach from 2008-12 before moving to Holmes to be the offensive line coach.

Wright coached at Millsaps College from 2005-07, where he was offensive line coach, run-game coordinator and strength coach. The Majors had won only two games in 2005 and went on to win back-to-back conference championships in his last two seasons there.

He coached high school football at Grenada, North Delta Academy and Meridian, where his teams had four 1,000-yard rushers in three seasons while improving from 3-8 to 11-2.

Wright has a bachelor’s degree in management information systems and a master’s in business administration. He earned both while playing as a center and deep snapper at Arkansas State University from 1997-2000.

Wright and his wife Terra Pinkard Wright have five children: Emilee, 17; Mason, 15; Ian, 14; Anne Elise, 11; and Sawyer, 10.