ETSU resets coaching staff for 2026, J.C. Price leads changes

ETSU did not wait for fall camp to tell the FCS how serious it is about 2026. After wrapping up spring practice, the Buccaneers announced a staff reset that touched seven coaching roles, with four new staffers added since spring began. That is not housekeeping. It is a clear sign Will Healy believes the Bucs need sharper teaching, a wider recruiting footprint and more continuity in player development if they are going to climb in the SoCon race.

The most visible change is J.C. Price, who joined ETSU in March as defensive line coach. Price brings a résumé that carries weight in any FCS room: he was a Third Team All-American at Virginia Tech in 1995, went in the third round of the 1996 NFL Draft to the Carolina Panthers, and also spent time with the Arizona Cardinals. He later helped James Madison win the 2004 FCS national championship and spent 2012 through 2020 at Marshall, where the Herd piled up seven bowl trips and multiple conference-title runs. For ETSU, that kind of experience matters because the defensive front is where good teams survive November, and Price gives Healy a proven teacher who has lived in playoff football.

Rodney Hill is the other hire that matters in a more subtle way. He came aboard in March as assistant athletic director for football sport performance after two seasons at Florida as director of player athletic development, with previous stops at Arkansas, Duke and LSU. That is the type of move that usually shows up long before the box score does. If ETSU wants more from its roster over a full season, the work done in the weight room, on recovery and on daily development has to match the standard on game day.

Healy has been reshaping this program in stages. Dr. Richard Sander announced him as ETSU’s head coach on Dec. 12, 2024, and Healy’s first staff, finalized in February 2025, featured nine new coaches. The latest changes push that rebuild into a second phase rather than a one-time overhaul. ETSU also said three new full-time staff members joined in January and two coaches changed roles then, so the 2026 reset has been rolling for months, not days.

That matters because ETSU has also added 30 transfers this offseason and had to adjust its schedule after North Dakota State moved to the FBS level, replacing that road game with Tusculum at home. Put together, the staff churn, transfer influx and schedule change tell the same story: ETSU is not trying to stand still. It is trying to build faster, and to do it with a roster and coaching structure that can hold up when the SoCon starts handing out real answers in the fall.