April 10, 2006

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Rory Segrest, a former assistant football coach at Samford University, has accepted a position with the Philadelphia Eagles, the organization announced recently.

"This is a great honor for Coach Segrest, not only to advance his career, but to be plugged into the NFL," Samford head coach Bill Gray said. "He will learn a lot of football, and he will also bring a lot of good qualities with him to Philadelphia. We are excited for him and his family."

With the Eagles, Segrest will be the special teams quality control coach, and an assistant defensive line coach.

Segrest has been at Samford since 2002 as the team's defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator, and he was put in charge of the Bulldogs' special teams for the 2005 season.

In 2005, Samford led the Ohio Valley Conference in punt return average, averaging 13.2 yards per return, and the Bulldogs were fourth in the league in kickoff return average at 20.5 yards per return.

"Coach Segrest will be missed, he is a very good football coach and a student of the game," Gray said. "He loved what he did here, and that allowed him to put more energy and effort into it than a lot of people would have. He did an excellent job here."