“We are tremendously excited to have Kali Jones come to Middletown to reinvigorate our football program and lead us to championships,” Foust said. “Coach Jones has a unique ability to teach the game of football effectively to his players and to inspire them with his passion.”
Foust said the school received 72 resumes that included a wide range of head coaches and coordinators.
“We conducted a comprehensive search with an impressive array of candidates,” Foust said. “But in the end, Kali is exactly what our program needs right now, and I cannot wait to partner with him to bring the Middie Magic back.”
Jones coached Woodward to a 6-14 record in two seasons before taking the Withrow head coaching job in 2019. Withrow reached the playoffs each of the last four seasons and went 33-21 in five years under Jones’ leadership.
Withrow, a Division II program, made the regional finals for the first time in the school’s 104-year history before losing to Anderson 49-28 this past season.
The Tigers finished 12-2 — a program record for most wins — in 2023 and won the Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference Red Division title the last two years.
Jones, a 2005 Wright State University graduate, was twice named the CMAC Coach of the Year.
Simpson compiled an 11-47 record from 2018 to 2023 at Middletown, including 3-8 finishes the last two seasons.
The Middies finished eighth in the Greater Miami Conference with a 2-7 record and were the No. 15 seed in Division I, Region 4 this past season. They lost to No. 2 Princeton 41-15 in the first round.
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