BOONE, N.C. — Mark Speir, who spent nine seasons as a title-winning assistant at App State before becoming an FCS head coach, is returning to Boone as a senior analyst for the Mountaineers, head coach
Shawn Clark announced Tuesday.
Speir was a member of Jerry Moore's staff at App State from 2003-11, helping the Mountaineers win three straight national championships and six conference titles in those nine seasons. That success led to him being hired as the head coach at Western Carolina, where he was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson National FCS Coach of the Year award during his 10 years with the Catamounts.
"We're excited to welcome Mark and his wife, Paige, back to Boone," Clark said. "He was a big part of the record-breaking success during his time on Coach Moore's staff and understands the culture of App State Football. He knows what it takes to compete at a championship level."
A Kannapolis, N.C., native, Speir has spent three decades in coaching and maintained close ties to App State, where his son Zeb was a quarterback under Scott Satterfield from 2015-18 and his youngest son, Jackson, is currently a student.
In addition to serving as App State's recruiting coordinator from 2004-11, Speir coached running backs (2003-04), defensive linemen (2005-08), defensive ends (2009-10) and inside linebackers (2011) in Boone. In 2009, he was named the national FCS Assistant Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association.
App State posted a combined record of 92-28 during Speir's previous nine seasons with the program, and he was the position coach for six All-Americans: DL Jason Hunter, DL Marques Murrell, DL Gary Tharrington, DL Anthony "Whopper" Williams, DL Jabari Fletcher and LB Jeremy Kimbrough.
Off the field, Speir also made an impact in the High Country by being involved in many charitable causes.
His efforts through Samaritan's Purse in Boone helped raise more than $100,000 that went toward rebuilding the Memorial Christian Hospital in Bangladesh. Part of the fundraising came through his participation in the 2008 Music City Marathon in Nashville, the 2009 Boston Marathon (which he completed in less than four hours) and the 2010 Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati.
In 2009, Speir traveled to Bangladesh to provide medical supplies and volunteer at the hospital for 10 days. Two years later, Speir began organizing and participating in motorcycle tours to continue to raise funds.
