Name: James Saxon
Title: Running Backs
College: San Jose State
NFL: Ninth Season
Dolphins: First Season

Coach Saxon Photo Gallery

James Saxon was named the Dolphins’ running backs coach on January 22, 2008. He comes to the team after having spent eight years as an NFL assistant, including the past seven as running backs coach with the Kansas City Chiefs.

In Saxon’s seven-year stint with the Chiefs, three different backs earned Pro Bowl status, including running backs Priest Holmes (2001-03) and Larry Johnson (2005-06), as well as fullback Tony Richardson (2003-04). Holmes and Johnson combined for five 1,000-yard rushing seasons over that stretch, while each of the top four and five of the top six single-season rushing performances in Chiefs history were accounted for in Saxon’s tenure with the team. Prior to joining the Chiefs, Saxon held the same position with the Buffalo Bills in 2000. His first coaching position came tutoring the running backs at Rutgers University from 1997-98. He was a volunteer assistant for one year (1999) at Menlo College in California before entering the NFL ranks.

Saxon was a sixth-round draft choice of the Chiefs in 1988 and went on to play eight seasons as a running back in the NFL. This included stints with Kansas City (1988-91), Miami (1992-94) and Philadelphia (1995). Overall, he played in 111 career regular season games and rushed for 533 yards and five touchdowns on 145 attempts and caught 69 passes for 515 yards. He joined the Dolphins as a Plan B free agent during the 1992 offseason. In fact, Saxon will become the eighth person to have both played and coached with the Dolphins, joining Jeff Dellenbach, Bob Matheson, Tony Nathan, Bernie Parmalee, Terry Robiskie, Larry Seiple and Dwight Stephenson.

Saxon began his collegiate career at American River Junior College in California, where he played from 1984-85. He went on to spend two seasons at San Jose State (1986-87) where he totaled 609 yards rushing and nine TDs on 118 carries, and caught 78 passes for 732 yards and four TDs. He also threw for four scores during his two-year stay with the Spartans. He attended Battery Creek High School in Burton, South Carolina. Saxon and his wife, Shannon, have a son, Devin.