Army West Point Athletics
Football
- Title:
- Chief of Staff/Director of Football Operations
- Phone:
- 4619
Clayton Kendrick-Holmes enters his eighth season at Army, overseeing and managing the day-to-day operations of the Army Black Knights football program.
He was named Chief of Staff before the 2018 season.
In 2023, he was promoted to Associate Athletic Director for Football – Chief of Staff.
Kendrick-Holmes came to West Point as Director of Football Operations in August 2018, after serving as head coach at SUNY Maritime College with a 63-55 (.534) overall record in the first 13 years of program history. In his tenure as head coach, Kendrick-Holmes was also a key figure in the establishment of the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECAC) and served on several regional and national leadership committees including the NCAA East Region Advisory Committee, NCAA National Football Championship Committee, American Football Coaches Association Board of Coaches, AFCA Division III Coaches’ Poll and the AFCA Region 1 All-American Committee.
Starting the Privateers NCAA Division III football program in 2005, Kendrick-Holmes quickly turned it into a formidable championship-level program where he earned a 39-22 (.639) conference record and marked a 15-5 (.750) record against Maritime Industry rivals Massachusetts Maritime, Maine Maritime, and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.
In 2010, Maritime achieved its first undefeated regular season and earned a berth in the NCAA tournament playoffs. In Kendrick-Holmes' final two seasons, the Privateers received bowl game invitations. Over his 13 seasons at Maritime, he also served as offensive coordinator for seven years (2005–09, 2014–15) and stepped in as defensive coordinator for two seasons (2016–17).
In his sixth season at the helm, Maritime received unprecedented levels of national attention by harnessing an unbeaten record to the impending mobilization to serve in Afghanistan as a Naval Reservist in 2010. The team finished the regular season ranked 33rd in the national poll and ninth in the ECAC Lambert-Meadowlands D3 poll. Kendrick-Holmes received Coach of the Year honors from the American Football Coaches Association (Region 1), D3Football.com (East Region) and the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference. Named as a national finalist for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award, Kendrick-Holmes was also nominated by the New York Jets for the inaugural Don Shula NFL Coach of the Year Award. Nominees display the integrity, achievement, and leadership exemplified by the winningest coach in NFL history, Don Shula. The 2010 undefeated season and berth in the National Championship Playoff remain the crown jewel in the program’s brief history.
Under Kendrick-Holmes’ leadership, the Privateer program received numerous on-field accolades for individual and team accomplishments. Players were twice named as All-Americans, and the roster saw All-East Region honors eight times. In eight seasons of membership in the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECAC), four separate players received Conference Player of the Year accolades and the program boasted 121 All-Conference players with 40 First Team selections.
The Privateer’s also excelled off the field, upholding academic excellence and community service. From 2011-17, the program placed a player on the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team. The 2017 season (9-2) saw seven players acknowledged by the National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society. Seven players were also awarded the prestigious SUNY Chancellor’s Scholar Athlete Award, with 29 players receiving Academic All-ECFC honors. In 2011, defensive lineman Ricky McClain was named to the Allstate/AFCA Good Works Team for his work on and off the field with volunteer efforts surrounding the Adaptive Sports Foundation, where he taught disabled veterans and handicapped youth how to ski and snowboard.
In 1999, Kendrick-Holmes left the active-duty Navy to pursue a coaching career and was hired by The Citadel, where he was the outside linebackers coach for one season and the recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach for two seasons.
Kendrick-Holmes began his coaching career at the Naval Academy Preparatory School (NAPS), where he coached seven seasons split into three tenures. His first coaching appearance came in 1992, following graduation from the Navy as an Ensign. From 1996-98, he served on staff while also on active duty as a Lieutenant instructor at the Surface Warfare Officer’s School. Additionally, while serving as a contracted coach from 2002-04, the last two seasons saw Kendrick-Holmes as the head coach/defensive coordinator and led the NAPS team to a 14-6 overall record.
A 1992 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Kendrick-Holmes holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Oceanography and was a two-time letter winner at linebacker for the Midshipmen. He served a total of seven years on active duty, spending three years as the Assistant Navigator, Administration Officer, and Damage Control Assistant onboard the USS ROBERT G. BRADLEY (FFG-49).
Kendrick-Holmes retired from the United States Naval Reserve in September 2021, at the rank of Commander, having served in various units over the past 21 years. His decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (2 awards), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (2 awards), and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (2 awards).
A native of Lafayette, Ala., Kendrick-Holmes is married to his wife, Johanna, and they have two sons, Bo and Wills. Bo graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 2020, where he was a member of the rugby team. Wills is a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he played on the hockey team and served as the Executive Officer of the NROTC Unit. He has since been selected for Naval Aviation and is currently stationed in Pensacola, Florida, where he is attending flight school.
