Valdosta State hired former Florida quarterback Kerwin Bell to succeed David Dean as the Blazers’ head football coach.
Dean left earlier this month to join the new coaching staff at Georgia Southern.
“I am excited for the opportunity to be the next head football coach at Valdosta State University,” Bell said in a news release issued Friday by Valdosta State. “We will continue to build upon the great tradition of champions that has made Blazer Nation proud.”
Bell coached the past nine seasons at Jacksonville University. His record with the Dolphins, who play at the FCS level, was 66-35. The Dolphins won two Pioneer Football League championships, set a PFL record with 16 consecutive wins, and led the team to the best record in school history during the Dolphins’ 10-1 run in 2010.
The Pioneer Football League is a non-scholarship FCS league. Jacksonville’s lack of scholarships was reported to be the reason Bell left the program.
Bell began his coaching career in 1990 as a graduate assistant coach under Steve Spurrier at Florida. After completing a professional playing career in the 1990s that included time in the NFL, the Canadian Football League and the World League of American Football, Bell became the offensive coordinator for the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL, where he served for two seasons before coaching at Trinity Catholic High School in Ocala, Fla. until his time began at Jacksonville.
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