Jacksonville High Names Ex-NFL Kick Returner Reggie Swinton as New Head Football Coach

The Jacksonville Titans bring in Reggie Swinton to be their new football coach to replace Eric Allen, who had been the head coach for the 5A club since 2022.

The Jacksonville Titans hire former NFL star kick returner Reggie Swinton as their head football coach. / Reggie Swinton X.Com

The Jacksonville Titans have found a new man to run their football program. It was announced on Monday that the Arkansas 5A Central squad hired Reggie Swinton, a former NFL kick returner, to take over as the head coach of the football program. Swinton moves up a classification after leading the 4A-2 Forrest City Mustangs to a 4-7 overall record in 2024, including a 4-3 conference record.

Before Swinton's one season as the head coach at Forrest City, the Mustangs posted consecutive 1-9 seasons. Jacksonville went 2-8 in 2024, only recording 1 conference victory, so they are counting on immediate improvements with Swinton as the head coach, much like he did with the Mustangs.

Swinton is a Little Rock native who was a multi-sport star at Central High School. He earned all-state honors in football, basketball, baseball, and track. After high school, Swinton joined the Murray State football team, which Little Rock Central High alum Houston Nutt coached at the time. During his time in Murray, Swinton set multiple school records, including school records for most career receptions (144), career receiving yards (2,346), career receiving touchdowns (20), and 100-yard receiving games (7). He also recorded the longest reception in school history after logging an 80-yard catch against Austin Peay during his senior season.

After finishing his college career with an All-OVC selection and a Division I-AA All-American 2nd-team selection, he declared for the 1998 NFL Draft, but he would not be picked. However, Swinton was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Jacksonville Jaguars. After being waived on August 25th, the Murray State star got an opportunity with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. In March of 1999, the Argonauts traded Swinton to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

While with the Blue Bombers, Swinton was 10th in the CFL in kickoff returns with a 25.8-yard average, along with 1 touchdown. After being released by Winnipeg, he was signed by the Edmonton Eskimos in September of 1999, but he was released again about a month later. Swinton got another NFL shot after being picked up as a free agent by the Seattle Seahawks on February 25, 2000, but he was cut before the start of the 2000 NFL season.

Swinton's whirlwind professional football career continued after being drafted by the Las Vegas Outlaws in the 2001 XFL Draft, but he was cut again before the start of the season. The Little Rock native returned home after being signed by the Arkansas Twisters of the AF2 (the Arena Football League's developmental league). He set franchise records for the Twisters, hauling in 85 catches, 1,463 yards, and 33 touchdowns in 13 games.

After his breakout season, Swinton would sign with the Dallas Cowboys in August of 2001, where he would finally make his first NFL roster. During his rookie season, he had 56 kickoff returns for 1,327 yards, both team records. He also had 1,741 combined kick return yards (team record) and ranked third in the NFL in punt-return average with 13.7 yards a return. He recorded 414 punt return yards, which was the 7th-most in Cowboy history, which earned him second-team All-Pro honors as a punt returner by College and Pro Football Newsweekly.

Swinton broke the franchise record for most kickoff return yards in a game with 231 against the Philadelphia Eagles in game 3 of the 2002 season. He was traded to the Green Bay Packers in 2003, but was cut shortly after. He was claimed off waivers by the Detroit Lions, where he would record 1,282 total return yards in 11 games, as well as finding the endzone on both a kick return and a punt return.

Swinton spent one more year in Detroit, hauling in 514 return yards during the 2004 season. After being waived by the Houston Texans in September of 2005, he was signed by the Arizona Cardinals, where he would log a career-best 1,456 kick return yards, along with 334 punt return yards. He finished his NFL career with 4,919 kick return yards, 1,311 punt return yards, 4 return touchdowns, 493 receiving yards, and 2 receiving touchdowns.

After his playing days were over, Swinton took a position in 2007 on the Arkansas Baptist College coaching staff in Little Rock, where he coached wide receivers and special teams. After that, he spent 4 seasons on the coaching staff at Pulaski Heights Middle School.

In 2012, Swinton was named the Amateur Athletic Union Football Sports Director of Arkansas and coached the Elite Arkansas Lions AAU program. Along with his numerous records and accomplishments while playing and coaching in the Natural State, Swinton is in the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame after his incredible playing career at Murray State.