Head football coach Rick Christophel announced in mid-June the addition of longtime coaching-cohort and APSU alum Gary Shephard as an assistant coach.
Adding Shephard meant defensive staff reorganization that saw coordinator Granville Eastman returning to the secondary as safeties coach; Dainon Sidney shifting from secondary coach to cornerbacks coach and Shephard taking over as linebackers coach. Ryan Taylor remain's the team's defensive line coach.
With more than 10 years as a Division I assistant coach, Shephard also is no stranger to the Governors' football program or Christophel. The two played together at Austin Peay under legendary coach Bill Dupes in 1971 - Christophel as a freshman and Shephard as a senior. Although their time together on the field was short, their history as fellow coaches is much more extensive.
Shephard did his postgraduate work at Austin Peay and began his coaching career under then-head coach Watson Brown in 1979. After three years with the Govs, he became an assistant at Elon under Wright Anderson. That stint ultimately linked him back up with Brown and Christophel at Cincinnati in 1983.
From there, Shephard and Christophel spent the next six years assisting Brown - at Rice for two years coaching defensive tackles, followed by a four-year run at Vanderbilt. Shephard, who was a tight end during his playing days, has primarily coached on the defensive side throughout his career, while also assisting with special teams.
One of the more intriguing aspects of Shephard's coaching career is his time spent in the trenches of Tennessee and Georgia high school football arenas. In fact, he began his coaching career at the high school level in Savannah, Ga., coaching first at Jenkins High School and then later at Windsor High School. After his time at Vanderbilt, he resumed is prep coaching career, including an impressive run as head coach Knoxville Hall High School.
In fact, in his 12-year Halls tenure he posted an 80-54 coaching record, including eight playoff appearances, and led his team to the 1996 TSSAA AAA Championship game. His notoriety also led to his tenure as President of the Tennessee Football Coaches Association.
In 2005, Shephard returned to his hometown, taking over as head coach and athletics director at Clarksville Academy. The Cougars brought Shephard in to rebuild a struggling program and he returned them to the playoffs.
Now back at Austin Peay, he will be working with one of his former players, linebacker Zac Burkhart.
Shephard and his wife Linda own Edward's Restaurant in downtown Clarksville. They have two adult children, Gary and John, a former quarterback and defensive back during Austin Peay's non-scholarship era who now manages Edward's.
