Jackson, Lamendola added to Air Force football staff
1/27/2022 2:00:00 PM | Football
Charlie Jackson and Ken Lamendola have been added to the Air Force football coaching staff, according to an announcement from head coach Troy Calhoun. Jackson will serve as assistant head coach/defensive backs coach while Lamendola will be a defensive assistant.
Air Force finished the 2021 season 10-3 overall and was co-champion of the Mountain West Mountain Division with a 6-2 mark. The Falcons posted double digit wins for the second time in three seasons (2019), fourth time under Head Coach Troy Calhoun and ninth time in school history. Air Force capped the season with a 31-28 victory over Louisville in the First Responder Bowl in Dallas, Texas, to record its third consecutive bowl win dating back to 2016, including two straight over Power 5 teams.
Charlie Jackson
Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Backs
Jackson comes to the Academy from Kentucky State, where he served as head coach the last three seasons.
Jackson garnered national recognition for his total rebuild and overhaul of the Kentucky State program. He is the winningest (percentage) head football coach at Kentucky State since 1945 (WWII) minimum 20 games. Jackson arrived at Kentucky State with the football program in the midst of an abysmal downward spiral that culminated in a 0-10 season in 2018. He took over a program on a 12-game losing streak and a record of 1-16 in the previous 17 games.
In Jackson's first year leading the program, the team win total improved by seven games, the highest total win improvement in the country. His team posted victories over multiple Division I opponents for the first time in school history, and his team's 70 percent winning percentage (7-3) was the programs best in 41 years. After not competing in 2020 due to COVID-19, the next season produced more winning and the team's 14 win improvement over two seasons ranked #1. Jackson's team set university records for points in an away game (76), points in a home game (63), total yards in a game (746), rush yards in a game (662), Division 1 victories, most players with a 3.0 GPA (35), and many more.
Jackson was an assistant coach for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL) as a defensive assistant/defensive backs coach prior to his stint at Kentucky State. Prior to the Falcons, Jackson served on the NCAA national headquarters staff as a member of the College Football Rules Enforcement Group. He was responsible for the football rules development efforts in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Mountain West Conference (MWC). His background includes multiple defensive coaching roles with the Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos along with coaching fellowships with the Falcons and St. Louis Rams. He also served as a college scout for the Seattle Seahawks organization. Jackson has collegiate experience at Colorado, UCLA, Utah State, Buffalo, and Air Force. Jackson was a defensive assistant and junior varsity coach at the Academy in 2004.
Jackson is a 2000 graduate of the Air Force Academy, where he earned a bachelor's degree in management. He later earned a master's degree in management and sports studies from California State Long Beach. Jackson was a three-year letterman in football and also participated in indoor track and field. Following his senior football season, Jackson was selected by his teammates as a permanent team captain and recipient of Air Force football's highest honor, the Brian Bullard Award, as the player who displays unselfishness, pride in his role, total team commitment, and 110 percent effort.
Jackson served in the Air Force before entering the coaching arena in 2004. He ascended to the rank of captain while being stationed more than four years at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., and Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. His duties included assisting in negotiations with three foreign government agencies in support of international treaty agreements.
Jackson is a native of Vienna, Georgia. He is a 1995 academic honors graduate of Macon County High School in Montezuma, Georgia. As a football player at Macon County, he was selected to the Georgia Academic All-State football team and many on the field accolades, including Georgia Region 1A Football Player of the Year and Georgia Class-A Football Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Jackson is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). His professional associations include the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), NFL Coaches Association (NFLCA), National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), National Association of Athletics Compliance (NAAC), Minority Coaches Association of Georgia (MCAofGA), and the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA)/Women Leaders in College Sports.
Ken Lamendola
Defensive Assistant
Ken Lamendola comes to the Academy from Furman, where he spent four years as the Paladins' inside linebackers coach and two as recruiting coordinator.
In his first year on staff Lamendola was forced to manage early season-ending injuries to three senior starters — a task he accomplished in solid fashion by overseeing the development of a pair of Southern Conference All-Freshman Team performers, including Elijah McKoy, who finished the season with 81 tackles on the Paladins' 8-5 squad that advanced to the FCS playoffs, and Reynard Ellis, who was on the Jerry Rice Award watch list.
In 2018, he helped first-year starter Donavan Perryman play a key role in the squad's strong stretch run that saw the Paladins register five wins over their final six games to claim a share of the program's 14th SoCon championship.
In 2019, freshman inside linebacker Braden Gilby fashioned an impactful first season while earning SoCon All-Fresman honors and was a Phil Steele Freshman All-American team member while helping Furman to an 8-5 campaign, at-large berth to the FCS playoffs, and AFCA No. 19 final national ranking. This past season, freshman linebacker Nicky Kuzemka earned SoCon all-conference honors.
The quality work Lamendola has turned in with his players on the field has been mirrored by the stellar recruiting effort he has directed the last two years. Furman's 2019 class was rated among the Top 15 nationally.
Lamendola came to Furman from Air Force Academy Preparatory School, where he coached inside linebackers for two seasons from 2015-17.
Lamendola's playing career spanned five seasons (2007-11) and was highlighted by a sophomore campaign that saw him rack up 118 tackles and earn honorable mention All-Mountain West Conference honors as an inside linebacker before injuries curtailed his playing time.
The Westlake, Ohio, product totaled 24 tackles for a 2009 Air Force squad that defeated 25th-ranked Houston, 45-20, to win the Armed Forces Bowl. The next year he was a member of a Falcons' squad that went 9-4 and beat Georgia Tech, 14-7, in the Independence Bowl, and in 2011 he served as team captain in helping Air Force capture the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, which is awarded annually based on head-to-head results among the three service academies.
Lamendola is a December 2011 graduate of the Academy, where he earned a bachelor's in management. He has completed graduate level studies in United States Air Force Fundamentals of Acquisition Management at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, and holds a master's degree in human resources from the University of Oklahoma.
He served one year as a program manager for Air Force One in the Very Important Person Special Air Mission (VIPSAM) and Special Duty Division at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. An 18-month stint as executive officer in the VIPSAM Special Duty Division followed before he was assigned program manager duties in the E-4B Commercial Derivative Aircraft Division in Sept. of 2014. Among his many tasks there were enabling critical decision making capability to the Secretary of Defense and the National Airborne Operations Center for the $150 million/year E-4B fleet and spearheading a $400 million-dollar Low Frequency Transmit System replacement.
Air Force finished the 2021 season 10-3 overall and was co-champion of the Mountain West Mountain Division with a 6-2 mark. The Falcons posted double digit wins for the second time in three seasons (2019), fourth time under Head Coach Troy Calhoun and ninth time in school history. Air Force capped the season with a 31-28 victory over Louisville in the First Responder Bowl in Dallas, Texas, to record its third consecutive bowl win dating back to 2016, including two straight over Power 5 teams.
Charlie Jackson
Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Backs
Jackson comes to the Academy from Kentucky State, where he served as head coach the last three seasons.
Jackson garnered national recognition for his total rebuild and overhaul of the Kentucky State program. He is the winningest (percentage) head football coach at Kentucky State since 1945 (WWII) minimum 20 games. Jackson arrived at Kentucky State with the football program in the midst of an abysmal downward spiral that culminated in a 0-10 season in 2018. He took over a program on a 12-game losing streak and a record of 1-16 in the previous 17 games.
In Jackson's first year leading the program, the team win total improved by seven games, the highest total win improvement in the country. His team posted victories over multiple Division I opponents for the first time in school history, and his team's 70 percent winning percentage (7-3) was the programs best in 41 years. After not competing in 2020 due to COVID-19, the next season produced more winning and the team's 14 win improvement over two seasons ranked #1. Jackson's team set university records for points in an away game (76), points in a home game (63), total yards in a game (746), rush yards in a game (662), Division 1 victories, most players with a 3.0 GPA (35), and many more.
Jackson was an assistant coach for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL) as a defensive assistant/defensive backs coach prior to his stint at Kentucky State. Prior to the Falcons, Jackson served on the NCAA national headquarters staff as a member of the College Football Rules Enforcement Group. He was responsible for the football rules development efforts in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Mountain West Conference (MWC). His background includes multiple defensive coaching roles with the Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos along with coaching fellowships with the Falcons and St. Louis Rams. He also served as a college scout for the Seattle Seahawks organization. Jackson has collegiate experience at Colorado, UCLA, Utah State, Buffalo, and Air Force. Jackson was a defensive assistant and junior varsity coach at the Academy in 2004.
Jackson is a 2000 graduate of the Air Force Academy, where he earned a bachelor's degree in management. He later earned a master's degree in management and sports studies from California State Long Beach. Jackson was a three-year letterman in football and also participated in indoor track and field. Following his senior football season, Jackson was selected by his teammates as a permanent team captain and recipient of Air Force football's highest honor, the Brian Bullard Award, as the player who displays unselfishness, pride in his role, total team commitment, and 110 percent effort.
Jackson served in the Air Force before entering the coaching arena in 2004. He ascended to the rank of captain while being stationed more than four years at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., and Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. His duties included assisting in negotiations with three foreign government agencies in support of international treaty agreements.
Jackson is a native of Vienna, Georgia. He is a 1995 academic honors graduate of Macon County High School in Montezuma, Georgia. As a football player at Macon County, he was selected to the Georgia Academic All-State football team and many on the field accolades, including Georgia Region 1A Football Player of the Year and Georgia Class-A Football Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Jackson is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). His professional associations include the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), NFL Coaches Association (NFLCA), National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), National Association of Athletics Compliance (NAAC), Minority Coaches Association of Georgia (MCAofGA), and the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA)/Women Leaders in College Sports.
Ken Lamendola
Defensive Assistant
Ken Lamendola comes to the Academy from Furman, where he spent four years as the Paladins' inside linebackers coach and two as recruiting coordinator.
In his first year on staff Lamendola was forced to manage early season-ending injuries to three senior starters — a task he accomplished in solid fashion by overseeing the development of a pair of Southern Conference All-Freshman Team performers, including Elijah McKoy, who finished the season with 81 tackles on the Paladins' 8-5 squad that advanced to the FCS playoffs, and Reynard Ellis, who was on the Jerry Rice Award watch list.
In 2018, he helped first-year starter Donavan Perryman play a key role in the squad's strong stretch run that saw the Paladins register five wins over their final six games to claim a share of the program's 14th SoCon championship.
In 2019, freshman inside linebacker Braden Gilby fashioned an impactful first season while earning SoCon All-Fresman honors and was a Phil Steele Freshman All-American team member while helping Furman to an 8-5 campaign, at-large berth to the FCS playoffs, and AFCA No. 19 final national ranking. This past season, freshman linebacker Nicky Kuzemka earned SoCon all-conference honors.
The quality work Lamendola has turned in with his players on the field has been mirrored by the stellar recruiting effort he has directed the last two years. Furman's 2019 class was rated among the Top 15 nationally.
Lamendola came to Furman from Air Force Academy Preparatory School, where he coached inside linebackers for two seasons from 2015-17.
Lamendola's playing career spanned five seasons (2007-11) and was highlighted by a sophomore campaign that saw him rack up 118 tackles and earn honorable mention All-Mountain West Conference honors as an inside linebacker before injuries curtailed his playing time.
The Westlake, Ohio, product totaled 24 tackles for a 2009 Air Force squad that defeated 25th-ranked Houston, 45-20, to win the Armed Forces Bowl. The next year he was a member of a Falcons' squad that went 9-4 and beat Georgia Tech, 14-7, in the Independence Bowl, and in 2011 he served as team captain in helping Air Force capture the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, which is awarded annually based on head-to-head results among the three service academies.
Lamendola is a December 2011 graduate of the Academy, where he earned a bachelor's in management. He has completed graduate level studies in United States Air Force Fundamentals of Acquisition Management at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, and holds a master's degree in human resources from the University of Oklahoma.
He served one year as a program manager for Air Force One in the Very Important Person Special Air Mission (VIPSAM) and Special Duty Division at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. An 18-month stint as executive officer in the VIPSAM Special Duty Division followed before he was assigned program manager duties in the E-4B Commercial Derivative Aircraft Division in Sept. of 2014. Among his many tasks there were enabling critical decision making capability to the Secretary of Defense and the National Airborne Operations Center for the $150 million/year E-4B fleet and spearheading a $400 million-dollar Low Frequency Transmit System replacement.
Football @ Utah State 2025
Monday, September 15
Falcons drop road contest to Utah State
Sunday, September 14
Troy Calhoun and Players POST USU 2025
Sunday, September 14
Football Press Conference - September 9th, 2025
Tuesday, September 09
