James Saxon (American football)


James Elijah Saxon is an American football coach and former player who is the current running backs coach for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He played college football at San Jose State before playing in the NFL from 1988 to 1995.

Early life and college career

Born in Beaufort, South Carolina, James Saxon graduated from Battery Creek High School in Burton, South Carolina in 1984. Saxon moved to Sacramento, California to attend American River College and played on its football team from 1984 to 1985. Then, Saxon transferred to San Jose State University. Saxon played for the San Jose State Spartans football team in 1986 and 1987 as running back and was part of the Spartans' 1986 California Bowl championship team.

Professional playing career

Saxon was selected in the sixth round of the 1988 NFL Draft as the 135th overall pick. As a fullback, Saxon played for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1988 to 1991, Miami Dolphins from 1992 to 1994, and Philadelphia Eagles in 1995.

Coaching career

In 1997, Saxon got his first coaching job as running backs coach at Rutgers University, a position he would have for two years. Saxon also served as a training camp coaching intern for the Kansas City Chiefs in 1998. In 1999, Saxon was a volunteer assistant coach for Menlo College.
Saxon then became running backs coach for the Buffalo Bills in 2000 and held the same positions for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2001 to 2007, Miami Dolphins from 2008 to 2010, Minnesota Vikings from 2010 to 2013, and Pittsburgh Steelers from 2014 to 2018.
On January 14, 2019, Saxon was hired by the Arizona Cardinals to be their running backs coach.