PELLA—For the third time since 2000, a member of the Central College football coaching staff was selected as the American Football Coaches Association's Division III Assistant Coach of the Year as longtime offensive line coach Eric Jones was selected as the 2025 recipient.
           
Joining former defensive coordinator Don DeWaard (2000) and offensive coordinator Dick Bowser (2008) as honorees, Jones gives Central a third winner of the AFCA's Assistant Coach of the Year Award. Only Division II Carson-Newman University (Tenn.) has more honorees with four.
           
A 28-year member of the coaching staff, Jones has spent most of that time working with the offensive lineman. He's also previously worked with the tight ends and defensive line and spent the 2002 season as offensive coordinator. He's been the offensive line coach since 2011.
           
In 2024, Central lead the American Rivers Conference in total offense (436.2 yards per game), scoring (38.5 points per game), red-zone efficiency (39 of 45) and third-down conversions (49.7%). In 2025, Central was second in scoring (32.1 ppg), total offense (396.5 ypg) and third in rushing offense (179.8 ypg).
           
As a player, Jones was an offensive guard from 1983-86, a four-year span in which Central had a 40-5 overall record and 28-1 mark in conference games. He earned three varsity letters while helping Central to four Iowa Conference Championships and an appearance in the 1984 NCAA Division III national championship game.
           
Jones was named Central's Athletics Recruitment and Retention Coordinator this summer after previously working in admissions, student life and academic affairs. His community involvement includes decades of work in youth programs, church service and campus-wide volunteer initiatives.