Rory Segrest returns to Samford as a unpaid volunteer as the run game coordinator and coaching defensive ends.
Segrest joins Samford after his fourth season with the Jaguars in 2025 and his first as a Pro Scout. Segrest has spent 30 years coaching at the college and NFL levels throughout his career, most recently serving as Assistant Defensive Line Coach for the Jaguars for three seasons (2022-24).
In 2024, Segrest helped develop OT Mason Smith, who finished his rookie year with 17 tackles (1 O solo), four quarterback hits, 3.0 sacks, three tackles for loss and three passes defensed in 11 games played. Smith was one of four rookie defensive linemen in 2024 with at least 3.0 sacks.
In 2023, the Jaguars' defense tied for eighth in turnovers (27), ranked ninth in rushing yards per game (103.1) and eighth in third-down defense (36.5 percent). In his first season with Jacksonville in 2022, en route to an AFC South Division Title, he helped coach a unit that had the seventh-fewest opponent yards per rush (4.2) and had the 12th-lowest percentage of opponent rushes that resulted in a first down (24.3). Segrest spent four seasons with the University of Louisiana (2018-21) as the Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Line Coach. In that span, the Ragin' Cajuns finished with a record of 41-12, a perfect 16-0 mark against members of the Sun Belt West Division, four consecutive West Division titles, four straight bowl appearances, and a share of the Sun Belt title in 2020 and as the 2021 Sun Belt Conference Champions. He helped develop Andre Jones, Jr. who was drafted by the Washington Commanders.
In 2021, Segrest helped Louisiana to its first conference championship title since 2005 and second in program history. The team finished with a 12-1 record, the most single-season wins in school history. The 12 straight wins also set the program record for consecutive victories. In 2020, Louisiana's defense ranked fourth in the Sun Belt and 31st nationally in scoring defense (22.0) and 33rd in total defense (355.4). The team broke into the national rankings for the first time in the modern era, finishing the campaign ranked No. 15 in the Associated Press Top 25 with a record of 10-1. During the 2019 season, the defensive line helped Louisiana finish the historic 2019 campaign with the top-ranked scoring defense (19.7 points allowed per game) and the second-best total defense (371.8 yards allowed per game) in the Sun Belt Conference. The team's 11 victories marked the first double-digit win season in program history.
Prior to his time with Louisiana, Segrest spent three seasons as Defensive Line and Specialist Coach at Arkansas from 2014-16. During this time period, he helped develop Trey Flowers, Deatrich Wise, Jr., Darius Philon, and Jeremiah Ledbetter all drafted in the NFL. Flowers (2x) and Wise(1) were Super Bowl Champions with the New England Patriots and Ledbetter (1) with Tampa Bay. He recruited and coached several other Razorbacks that were either drafted or undrafted free agents including Mitch Loewen, Armon Watts, McTelvin Agim, T.J. Smith and Jonathan Marshall.
