Jones played safety and running back at the University of Alabama, under Bear Bryant.
He had previously worked with Tomlin as well as former Steelers offensive line coach Larry Zierlein in the late 1990s at the University of Cincinnati.
Prior to joining the Steelers, Jones had coached football for 26 years—four seasons at the high school level; 21 seasons at the college level at Alabama, Temple, Pitt, Tulane, Cincinnati, James Madison, and Mississippi State; and a single year with the Canadian Football League's BC Lions.
[1] Their oldest daughter and son attended the University of Alabama on the Bear Bryant Scholarship and graduated from the establishment in 2011 and 2015, respectively.
The family makes their off-season home on a farm in Pickens County, Alabama, located between Aliceville and Carrollton.