Keith Jones has left New England after two seasons.
The New England Patriots coaching staff has its first official departure in the aftermath of Jerod Mayo’s firing.
Keith Jones, who had spent the last two seasons with the team, will join Appalachian State University as a defensive assistant. The school announced the hire on Thursday.
Jones first worked with the Patriots in training camp 2022 as part of the Bill Walsh Diversity Fellowship. He joined then-head coach Bill Belichick’s staff the following year in a fellowship role on the defensive side of the ball.
Belichick’s successor, Jerod Mayo, upgraded his title to defensive coaching assistant last offseason. Jones primarily worked with the defensive line in his two years in New England.
A defensive lineman at UT Martin who later also played in the Indoor Football League, Jones got his first coaching opportunity at Missouri Southern State. After coaching defensive tackles at MSSU in 2020, he spent one year each as a graduate assistant at Arkansas State and Arkansas.
Now, he is headed back to the college ranks, joining the Mountaineers’ staff for the 2025 season.
“I am very appreciative and excited for this opportunity to coach at Appalachian State University,” Jones said in a statement provided by the school. “App State is an historic program with a great winning tradition that we want to continue to contribute to, as well as molding these great men into leaders of today’s society.”
The Patriots fired rookie head coach Jerod Mayo after their season finale on Sunday. The team finished 4-13 under his leadership.