Fred Jackson (born June 9, 1950) is an American college football coach and former player. He is currently the assistant running backs coach for the University of Michigan. He has worked with Michigan Wolverines running backs for 28 years, from 2022 to the present and from 1992 to 2014. He was also the offensive coordinator in 1995 and 1996, assistant head coach from 1997 to 2002, and associate head coach from 2003 to 2007. Jackson was on Michigan's staff when the team won national championships in 1997 and 2023.
Jackson played college football at Jackson State. He has also held coaching positions at Flint Southwestern High School from 1971 to 1979, University of Toledo from 1980 to 1982, University of Wisconsin from 1983 to 1986, United States Naval Academy in 1987, University of South Carolina in 1988, Purdue University in 1989 and 1990, Vanderbilt University in 1991, and Ypsilanti Community High School in 2016 and 2017.
Early life Jackson was born on June 9, 1950, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was a quarterback at Scotlandville High School in the Scotlandville section of Baton Rouge. Although contemporaneous sources do not support the claim,To the contrary, contemporaneous sources show that Louisiana's all-state quarterbacks in 1965 were John Miller of Fair Park (Class AAA) and Mike Audirsch of Morgan City (Class AA) and that the Louisiana all-state quarterbacks in 1966 were Butch Duhe of Holy Cross (Class AAA) and Steve Keller of Hahnville (Class AA). a 1983 article in the Wisconsin State Journal claimed that Jackson was an all-state quarterback in both 1965 and 1966.
Although no contemporaneous accounts of the award have been found, Jackson claimed in a 1988 interview that he was named Louisiana's prep athlete of the year, the first black athlete to be so honored, at a 1967 banquet in Baton Rouge. According to Jackson, Alabama coach Bear Bryant approached him at the banquet and said, "Son, if things were different, I'd recruit you as my quarterback." Another article written in 2024 by Jackson's brother-in-law, a sports columnist for The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and former Football Writers Association of America president, claimed that he "was such a terrific high school quarterback in the mid-’60s that he found himself at a state awards banquet in Baton Rouge in 1968".
College career Jackson State Jackson played college football for the Jackson State Tigers in Jackson, Mississippi, from 1968 to 1970 or 1971. He was recruited and played under head coach Rod Paige as a freshman. Jackson continued under head coach Ulysses S. McPherson when Paige stepped down as head coach after the 1968 season.
1968 and 1969 seasons In September 1968, The Clarion-Ledger reported that Jackson was a sophomore competing for playing time at the quarterback position. No contemporaneous coverage has been found of Jackson appearing in any games for the 1968 or 1969 Jackson State Tigers football team.
1970 season In 1970, Sylvester Collins was Jackson State's starting quarterback, though there are contemporaneous articles that report Jackson also saw playing time at the position. In an October 1970 loss to Bishop, Jackson threw a 66-yard touchdown pass. Jackson also saw late-game action against Grambling in October 1970, completing one of two passes as a substitute for Collins. In his backup role, Jackson earned a reputation in 1970 as "a good passer".
Disputed 1971 season Many non-contemporaneous sources, including a 1972 The Flint Journal article, assert that Jackson also played for the 1971 Jackson State team. The 1972 Flint Journal article also claimed that Jackson was "the regular quarterback for four years at Jackson State" and that he completed 26 touchdown passes for the 1971 Jackson State team. An earlier Flint Journal article claimed that he threw 21 touchdown passes for the 1970 Jackson State team.("Fred Jackson, new SW grid assistant, threw 21 touchdowns as Jackson State (Miss.) quarterback last year. Jackson was drafted by the pros but didn't try out because of a knee injury.") Other non-contemporaneous sources claim that Jackson was teammates with Walter Payton who was a true freshman on the 1971 team, did not graduate from Jackson State until 1972, and received All-Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) honors and/or led the conference in passing as a senior. One source claimed that Jackson won all-conference honors in three seasons and that the team lost only three games in those three seasons.
However, the foregoing claims are contradicted by contemporaneous sources, including the following: Multiple accounts from The Flint Journal reported during the 1971 season that Jackson was an assistant coach at Flint Southwestern High School in Flint, Michigan, 980 miles north of Jackson State. No contemporaneous sources have been found to corroborate claims that Jackson played for the 1971 Jackson State team. To the contrary, none of the game accounts from the 1971 season in the Jackson, Mississippi, newspaper refer to Jackson being part of the team and instead show that Sylvester Collins was the team's quarterback. Contemporaneous sources do not list Jackson on the published All-SWAC teams during the 1969, 1970, or 1971 seasons. (1969 all-SWAC team: Marvin Weeks of Alcorn was the pick at quarterback) (1970 all-SWAC team: Clarence Tolliver of Alcorn was the pick at quarterback) (1971 all-SWAC team: Sylvester Collins of Jackson State was the pick at quarterback) Sylvester Collins rather than Fred Jackson was Jackson State's starting quarterback in both 1970 and 1971, and it was Collins who was named the All-SWAC quarterback (and also SWAC offensive player of the year) in 1971.(touting Jackson State quarterback Sylvester Collins as a Heisman candidate)(Jackson State quarterback Sylvester Collins in 1970 led the SWAC in passing yards and total offense yards) (Jackson State quarterback Sylvester Collins selected as the 1971 All-SWAC quarterback and the SWAC offensive player of the year, Fred Jackson not among honorees) The claimed connection with Walter Payton is contradicted by the facts that Payton did not play for Jackson State until 1971 at which time Jackson was coaching high school football in Michigan. Jackson was, however, teammates at Jackson State with Payton's older brother Eddie Payton. Reports that Jackson graduated from Jackson State in 1972 are contradicted by a 1971 press report calling Jackson "a recent college graduate".
Degrees Jackson received a Bachelor of Science degree from Jackson State College (now JSU) in 1971 or 1972. MGoBlue.com indicates that Jackson received a Master of Arts degree from the University of Michigan in 1975. Multiple sources, including the United Press International, reported that Jackson received a master's degree in educational administration in 1976 from Eastern Michigan University.
Professional career Philadelphia Eagles There are multiple contrasting sources concerning Jackson's relationship with the Philadelphia Eagles: A September 1971 article in The Flint Journal reported that Jackson "was drafted by the pros but didn't try out because of a knee injury". However, draft records show that Jackson was not selected in either the 1971 or 1972 NFL drafts. A June 1972 article in The Flint Journal reported that Jackson was drafted in the 12th round by the Eagles in 1971, and that he played in two exhibition games for the Eagles during the 1971 pre-season, but had his season cut short by an injury to ligaments in his knee. A 1988 article in a South Carolina newspaper reported that Jackson "spent two and a half weeks with the Philadelphia Eagles as a defensive back". A 2024 article in The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania reported that Jackson only briefly tried out for the Eagles and did so in 1972 rather than 1971. A 2011 article in The Michigan Daily reported the Eagles gave Jackson "a shot, but cut him not long after".
No record has been found in The Philadelphia Inquirer or the Philadelphia Daily News of Jackson having any affiliation with the Eagles whether in 1971, 1972 or otherwise.
Flint Sabres Jackson also played minor-league football as a cornerback for the Flint Sabres of the Midwest Football League. According to coverage in The Flint Journal Jackson began with the Sabres in 1972, and continued with the team through at least 1975.
Detroit Wheels There are non-contemporaneous sources claiming that Jackson played as much as eight weeks as a quarterback for the Detroit Wheels of the World Football League. However, no contemporaneous coverage has been found confirming that he played for the Wheels. The best contemporaneous source found states that Jackson had a tryout in 1974 for a spot on the Wheels' taxi squad.
Coaching career Flint Southwestern Although some non-contemporaneous sources listed a start date of 1972, The Flint Journal reported in September 1971 that Jackson had been hired at Flint Southwestern High School in Flint, Michigan, as an assistant football coach ("Southwestern High waited until almost the last minute to hire Fred Jackson, former quarterback at Jackson State College ...") and as an assistant track coach. ("Fred Jackson will assist in track. ... Marfechuk and Jackcson were recent additions to Southwestern's football staff. Both are recent college graduates.") In November 1971, at the end of the football season, Flint Southwestern head coach Dar Christiansen gave much of the credit for the team's success in 1971 to his "men on the phones", including his new assistant coach, Fred Jackson.
Jackson remained an assistant coach under Dar Christianen for seven years, coaching quarterbacks and running backs. During his time as an assistant coach at Flint Southwestern, Jackson coached future Michigan quarterback, Rick Leach.
Jackson took over as head coach at Flint Southwestern in the summer of 1978. He led Southwestern to a 6–3 record in 1978 and continued as Flint Southwestern's head football coach, compiling a 5–4 record for the 1979 season. During his two years as head coach at Flint Southwestern, Jackson compiled an overall record of 11–7.
Although some non-contemporaneous sources indicate that Jackson began coaching at Toledo in 1979, multiple contemporaneous articles in The Flint Journal reported that Jackson remained the head football coach at Flint Southwestern through the 1979 season.(quoting coach Fred Jackson's comments about his team's performances and featuring a photo of coach Jackson)(including quotes from coach Fred Jackson on his 1979 Flint SW team)(includes comments by coach Fred Jackson about his expectations for his team's performance in rivalry game and Flint Northern)
Jackson was also a biology teacher at Flint Southwestern. He coached the junior varsity basketball team during the 1972–73 season and also coached the school's track and field team starting in 1973. He led the track squads to Michigan Class A championships in 1975 and 1977 and was named the Michigan High School Athletic Association track and field coach of the year in 1977. In recognition of his contributions at Flint Southwestern, Jackson was inducted into the Greater Flint African American Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.
Toledo