The Athens Golden Eagles football team and head coach Cody Gross have been on the lookout for a new defensive coordinator ever since former DC Jonathan Snider accepted the head football coaching job at Ardmore back in May. That search officially came to end Tuesday, as Ervin Jackson joined the staff as assistant head coach, DC and defensive back coach. The hire was announced on the Athens Football Facebook page.

“Excited is an understatement,” Jackson said. “It’s like every day is Christmas.”

Jackson has 13 years of college coaching experience, most recently coming from the University of West Alabama, where he served as the defensive backs coach. He played college football at Ohio University.

Athens also hired Will Furlong as its new offensive line coach. Furlong was most recently the offensive coordinator for the Potsdam Royals in the German Football League. He also has coaching experience from the University of North Alabama, Point University in West Point, Georgia, and UWA. He played college football at Florida State University and UNA.

“I’m very excited to be in Athens and working with the OL,” Furlong said. “It’s a great place full of great people.”Gross also added Chris Massaro to the staff as the new strength and conditioning and defensive line coach.

“I am extremely excited to be at Athens and a part of Coach Gross’ staff,” Massaro said. “This position allows me to do two of the things I love most in life, and that’s coaching linemen and weight training.”

Massaro, an Indianapolis, Indiana, native, played college football and was a defensive lineman at the University of Indianapolis. He previously worked as an a strength and conditioning intern for LSU. He was also a graduate assistant strength coach for the University of Indianapolis. Before coming to Athens, he was most recently the strength and conditioning coordinator and freshman football head coach at Perry Meridian High School in Indianapolis.

“Athens is a very historic program, and I am going to do everything possible to bring a state title back to Athens,” Massaro said.