Austin Jones originally joined Northern Arizona's coaching staff in 2020, serving as an offensive graduate assistant working with tight ends / running backs / special teams before being promoted to the Lumberjacks’ running backs coach for the 2023 season.

Jones began his coaching career as a student assistant at Ole Miss, where he also worked with tight ends under head coaches Hugh Freeze and Matt Luke. During his time at Ole Miss, the Rebels finished inside the top 30 of the FBS in offense three times, peaking at 10th during the 2015 season. Ole Miss produced a large number of future NFL players during Jones’ tenure of 2014 to 2018, including D.K. Metcalf, A.J. Brown, Evan Engram, Laremy Tunsil and Dawson Knox.

From 2018 to 2019, Jones worked on Mike Norvell’s staff at Memphis, serving as an offensive quality control coach and working with the team’s running backs. The Tigers ranked among the top 10 in FBS offenses during both seasons, topping out at fourth during the 2018 season. Tigers also produced a large number of NFL running backs during Jones’ tenure including Darrell Henderson, Tony Pollard, Patrick Taylor, Kenneth Gainwell and Antonio Gibson.