A veteran coach with more than two decades of experience working in the professional and collegiate ranks, Jemal Singleton enters his fifth season as the Philadelphia Eagles' running backs/assistant head coach.
With Singleton overseeing the running backs, the Eagles' rushing attack has played a vital part in each of the team's last four playoff runs, which includes two conference titles and the Super Bowl LIX Championship. From 2021-24, Philadelphia set several NFL and franchise rushing records while ranking first in rushing touchdowns (108), second in rushing yards per game (153.9) and third in yards per carry (4.7). Singleton has also helped three different running backs earn Pro Bowl nods in the last three seasons.
In 2024, Singleton assisted an Eagles offense that established a league record with 3,866 rushing yards in the regular season and playoffs, which featured the most rushing yards ever by an individual from Saquon Barkley (2,504), who was voted NFL Offensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press. Barkley, who was an AP NFL MVP finalist, led the league with a career-high 2,005 rushing yards (eighth-most in NFL history) in the regular season, entering the 2,000-yard rushing club as its ninth member. A first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honoree, Barkley became the third player to finish as the NFL's rushing champion and win a Super Bowl in the same year, joining Terrell Davis (1998) and Emmitt Smith (1992, '93, '95). He also set a record with seven rushing touchdowns of 60-plus yards (including playoffs).
Under Singleton's direction in 2023, D'Andre Swift received his first Pro Bowl honor after ranking fifth in the NFL in rushing yards (career-high 1,049) and seventh in rushing average (4.6) (min. 200 attempts).
During the 2022 campaign, Philadelphia led the NFL with a club-record 32 rushing touchdowns, which tied for the third-most in league history, behind the 1962 Packers (36) and 1976 Steelers (33). Singleton helped Miles Sanders reach his first Pro Bowl after becoming the team's first 1,000-yard rusher since 2014. Sanders finished fifth at his position in rushing yards (career-high 1,269) and seventh in rushing touchdowns (career-high 11).
In 2021, Singleton supported an Eagles offense that ranked first in the NFL in both rushing yards (2,715) and rushing touchdowns (25).
Prior to coming to Philadelphia, Singleton spent the 2019-20 seasons coaching the Cincinnati Bengals' running backs. In 2020, he helped the club navigate a season-ending injury to Joe Mixon, as the Bengals' running backs totaled 1,891 scrimmage yards for the year. Singleton also guided Mixon to 1,137 rushing yards during the 2019 season.
Singleton served as the Oakland Raiders' running backs coach in 2018. In that time, Jalen Richard saw an increased role and tallied a career-high 68 catches, which were the fourth-most by a running back in team history.
From 2016-17, Singleton coached the Indianapolis Colts' running backs. In 2016, Frank Gore amassed 1,025 rushing yards, becoming just the fourth running back in NFL history to surpass 1,000 yards at age 33-or-older.
In 2015, Singleton worked as Arkansas' special teams coordinator/running backs coach. With the Razorbacks, he tutored Alex Collins to career highs in every major rushing category, including yards (1,577) and touchdowns (20). Collins was also named second-team All-SEC and a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award (nation's top running back).
From 2011-14, Singleton served as the running backs coach at Oklahoma State. In 2014, the Cowboys' running backs combined for more than 500 touches without committing a single turnover. Singleton also directed Oklahoma State's running backs to 35 rushing touchdowns during the 2013 campaign. In his first two seasons with the Cowboys, he mentored Joseph Randle, who earned back-to-back first-team All-Big 12 honors after leading the conference with 1,417 rushing yards in 2012 and scoring 24 touchdowns in 2011 en route to a Big 12 title.
Before joining Oklahoma State, Singleton spent nine years (2000, 2003-10) on Air Force's coaching staff. He served as a run game coordinator/running backs coach (2007-10), running backs coach (2006), varsity assistant coach (2003-05) and prep assistant (2000). During his tenure as the running backs coach, Singleton led the Falcons to a conference rushing title and top 10 national ranking in rushing offense each year, highlighted by a 2010 season that featured the nation's second-ranked rushing attack (306.5 ypg) and 41 total touchdowns (tied a Mountain West Conference record).
In 2003, Singleton returned to the Air Force Academy as a junior varsity defensive coordinator and varsity assistant coach after being stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville, AR, where he served as the Chief of Media Relations as part of his military service commitment. Singleton began his coaching career in 2000 as a prep assistant, working as the team's assistant head coach/offensive coordinator.
Singleton was a three-year (1996-98) letterwinner as a running back at Air Force. One of just six players in program history to be elected a two-time captain, Singleton totaled 941 rushing yards and four touchdowns in his career and was an All-WAC honorable mention selection. He helped the Falcons to back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time in school history, including their first outright conference championship in 1998.
A native of San Antonio, TX, Singleton is the son of a retired Air Force Sergeant. He holds a bachelor's degree in social sciences. Singleton and his wife, Jennifer, have two daughters, Morgan and Mallory.
