Josh Davis was named Scott & Lisa Jones Family Offensive Coordinator at the University of South Dakota in January 2023, fresh off an FCS national championship as the pass game coordinator and wide receivers coach for South Dakota State. In his first two seasons at South Dakota, Davis has improved the offensive identity and efficiency as the Yotes would make quarterfinal (2023) and semifinal (2024) appearances.
The 2024 campaign was one for the record books for Davis in his second season as Offensive Coordinator, guiding an offense that would help take USD to the FCS Playoffs semifinal for the first time in program history. The explosive offense this season saw the first NCAA Division I FCS era 1,000-yard rusher, which became a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in the FCS Playoffs. Charles Pierre Jr. (1,244 yards) and Travis Theis (1,194 yards) spearheaded the dominant run game as both sat No. 1-2 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) in both rushing yards per game and rushing touchdowns. Pierre Jr. would go onto finish second in the MVFC Offensive Player of the Year voting.
Prior to his time in Brookings, Davis was the Offensive Coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Northwestern College (Orange City, Iowa), for six seasons. After going 3-7 in his first season in Orange City, the Red Raiders were a combined 51-10 with five playoff appearances in the next five seasons.
Northwestern was among the NAIA's top teams in passing offense, total offense, and scoring annually under his leadership. The 2021 squad advanced to the national title game and Davis coached National Player of the Year Tyson Kooima, a quarterback who averaged 323 yards passing per game during the 2020 season.
Davis was the wide receivers coach at SDSU from 2009-15 and mentored five receivers who currently rank among the Jackrabbits' top-10 for career receptions. He started his coaching career in Brookings as a graduate assistant and spent time at Iowa Western Community College before returning to Brookings to coach the receivers.
Davis hails from Omaha, Nebraska, and attended Burke High School before embarking on a fantastic career at South Dakota State. He was a three-time All Conference wide receiver and a 2005 team captain. He graduated as the program's all-time leader in receptions (225), while ranking second in both career receiving yards (3,192) and touchdowns (26).
Davis and his wife, Brittany, have three children, Isabel, Reese, and Demi.
UPDATED DECEMBER 2024
