Jerone Steckel - Defensive Line Coach - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Jerone Steckel

Title:
Defensive Line Coach

Steckel joined the Southern Miss staff as defensive line coach in December, 2025 after serving as the defensive line coach for South Alabama last season. Steckel spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons at Eastern Michigan coaching the program’s defensive line. Steckel helped guide the Eagles to six wins and a bowl appearance in 2023.

Prior to joining the staff at Eastern Michigan, Steckel spent four years at Southeast Missouri State as the defensive line coach. He helped the Redhawks finish 9-3 overall and 5-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play during the 2022 campaign. The Redhawks advanced to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoffs for the third time in five years and posted their fourth nine-win season in program history. In 2020 and 2021, Steckel coached his first All-OVC performer in Bryson Donnell. A first-team selection, Donnell made five starts on the defensive line and was SEMO’s fourth-leading tackler with 41 stops. He added three tackles for loss, a sack and four quarterback hurries. Donnell also blocked a kick, forced a fumble and had one fumble recovery.

Steckel earned his first full-time coaching opportunity in 2018 as the defensive line coach at Missouri State. That Missouri State team tallied 24 sacks in a single season and picked up wins against No. 9 Illinois State and No. 20 Northern Arizona. The 2018 season at Missouri State was Steckel’s second stint with the Bears as he was a defensive quality control coach with the program from 2015-17. Between stops in Missouri, Steckel spent the 2017 football season at Central Michigan as a graduate assistant.

Steckel was selected for one of the National Football League’s Bill Walsh Diversity Fellowship Coaching positions in the summer of 2020. He worked with the Los Angeles Rams during OTAs and Training Camp.

Steckel’s first coaching position in college football was at Division II Adams State where he was a graduate assistant. That opportunity came after he concluded his playing career at his alma mater, Eastern Illinois. Steckel spent two seasons with the Panthers after starting his playing career at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa. At Eastern Illinois, Steckel helped the Panthers win the 2012 OVC Championship, and was roommates with former NFL quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

At EIU, Steckel earned a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and sports studies in 2014. He and his wife, Katlyn, have two sons, Tatum and Kyler.