Joshua Eargle, who is entering his 22nd season in coaching and third at FIU, was initially slotted as the Panthers' tight end coach in 2022, before being elevated to Deputy Head Coach and taking on the oversight of the offensive line beginning in 2023.
Eargle arrived in Miami after serving as the senior offensive consultant at the University of Memphis and the tight end coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Kansas.
During the 2021 season, Eargle served as the senior offensive consultant working with the quarterbacks at Memphis.
The Tigers captured their eighth consecutive berth to a bowl game, earning an invitation to the EasyPost Hawai’i Bowl. Memphis’ explosive offense earned three players First Team American Athletic All-Conference awards: Calvin Austin (WR) , Sean Dykes (TE) and Dylan Parham (OL). True Freshman Seth Hennigan rewrote the Tigers’ offensive records books in 2021.
With 3,322 passing yards on the regular season, Hennigan broke the school record for passing yards as a freshman. Prior to the bowl game, Hennigan ranked 10th in the NCAA passing yards per game (302.0), 13th in total offense (315.4), 14th in passing yards per completion (14.14), 16th in passing yards (3,322) and 18th in passing touchdowns (25).
In his time at KU, Eargle has developed the hybrid position for the Jayhawks, which was led by sophomore Mason Fairchild with five receptions for 57 yards in 2020. In addition to developing a young group at tight end, Eargle helped KU bring in one of the strongest spans of recruiting for the Jayhawks, with the 2021 class ranking fourth in the Big 12 and 42nd nationally according to Rivals.
In addition to developing a young group at tight end, Eargle was chosen to serve as the interim head coach for the Kansas vs. West Virginia game on October 17, 2020, while Head Coach Les Miles was unable to travel due to COVID. The Jayhawks rallied around Eargle’s passion and played with a marked intensity.
Prior joining the Kansas staff, Eargle spent the previous three seasons at Austin Peay in a variety of roles, including interim head coach, offensive coordinator, run game coordinator and offensive line coach. Prior to the 2017 season, Austin Peay went from having just one win in four years to finishing with an 8-4 mark, including an 8-1 record in FCS competition.
Prior to Kansas, Eargle was the offensive coordinator at Austin Peay and his 2018 unit set program records for yards per game (419.0), points scored (340), touchdowns scored (47), points per game (30.9) yards per play (6.19) and yards per rush (5.39).
In 2018, Eargle took over the reins of the offense after the second game of the year. In his first game as offensive coordinator for APSU, Eargle’s offense set the Ohio Valley Conference record for most points scored against a Division I opponent in a 78-40 victory over Morehead State.
For the 2018 season, the Govs set school records in yards per game (419.0), points scored (340), touchdowns scored (47), points per game (30.9) yards per play (6.19) and yards per rush (5.39). Eargle’s offensive line finished top ten nationally and led the conference, allowing only nine sacks on the season. Under his tutelage, Kentell Williams earned First-Team All-OVC recognition and Third Team All-America honors, and offensive linemen Byron Glass and Ethan Self were named Second-Team All-OVC.
Additionally, two of Eargle’s pupils, left tackle Kyle Anderton and left guard Ryan Rockensuess, were named Second-Team All-OVC at the end of the 2017 season for their work in paving the top rushing attack in school history.
The Texas native started his coaching career at the University of Southern Mississippi in 2003. In his first year as a graduate assistant, he was a part of the Conference USA Championship with a perfect 8-0 record. The Golden Eagles earned a bowl bid to the AXA Liberty Bowl that season and notched a win in the GMAC Bowl the following year.
Eargle became the offensive line Coach at Ouachita Baptist in 2005 before returning to Southern Mississippi as an assistant offensive line coach. Upon his return to Southern Miss in 2006, the team won the Conference USA East title and the New Orleans Bowl.
Eargle was at Nicholls State for the 2007-08 seasons, serving as the recruiting coordinator and offensive line coach, before taking a quality control position at LSU in 2009. During his lone season at LSU, the Tigers were ranked as high as No. 4 in the country and played in the Capital One Bowl.
Eargle spent the 2010 season as the offensive coordinator at Arkansas-Monticello and then was the defensive coordinator at Hallsville (Texas) High School in 2011 and the defensive coordinator at Southeastern Oklahoma State in 2012.
Eargle was named head football coach at East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, Texas in 2013. He turned around a struggling program to win the American Southwest Conference Championship in his third season. He led ETBU to a 7-3 record with a 4-1 mark in the ASC and the program’s first national ranking since 2004. Eargle was named the ASC Coach of the Year in 2015, and produced five All-Americans and 30 all-conference players, including quarterback Josh Warbington and running back Kendall Roberson who posted back-to-back All-American campaigns in 2014-15.
Eargle played college football at Memphis and won the inaugural Top Tiger Award, presented to the player who battled back from adversity or overcame difficult circumstances to return to the field. He earned his Master’s in sports administration from Southern Miss in 2004.
The Eargles founded the Ruler of Hope foundation, whose mission is to provide support and research to medically fragile children. Following the 2018 season, Eargle won the Rare Disease Champion Award presented by Uplifting Athletes for his work in raising awareness for his young daughter Landrey’s fight against life-threatening illnesses.
His wife, Kristen, founded and hosts a national podcast, Coach’s Wife Life. The Eargles have three children—Kourtney, Landrey and Stallings.
EARGLE COACHING FILE
| 2023 - pres. |
FIU |
Deputy Head Coach/Offensive Line |
| 2022 |
FIU |
Tight Ends |
| 2021 |
Memphis |
Senior Offensive Consultant |
| 2020 |
Kansas |
Tight Ends/Recruiting Coordinator |
| 2019-20 |
Kansas |
Senior Analyst |
| 2016-18 |
Austin Peay |
Offensive Coordinator |
| 2013-15 |
East Texas Baptist |
Head Coach |
| 2012 |
Southeastern Oklahoma State |
Defensive Coordinator |
| 2011 |
Hallsville HS (Texas) |
Defensive Coordinator |
| 2010 |
Arkansas-Monticello |
Offensive Coordinator |
| 2009 |
LSU |
Quality Control |
| 2007-08 |
Nicholls State |
Offensive Line/Recruiting Coordinator |
| 2006 |
Southern Miss |
Quality Control |
| 2005 |
Oachita Baptist |
Offensive Line |
| 2003-04 |
Southern Miss |
Graduate Assistant |
