After three years of no changes to the Liberty football on field coaching staff under head coach Jamey Chadwell, year four will have some new faces. On Wednesday, CBS’ Matt Zenitz reported that Liberty LB Coach Josh Linam is heading to James Madison as Co-Defensive Coordinator and Linebacker Coach. Earlier, co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Willy Korn stepped away from football.
Linam has been on the Liberty staff for the past three seasons, coming to Lynchburg as part of Chadwell’s initial coaching staff with the Flames. He’s seen the linebacker room grow from a question mark to a strength on the team during his three seasons. Prior to joining the Flames, Linam was a defensive analyst at Auburn briefly while also the DC and safeties coach at Catawba College in 2022. He’s also coached at Georgia Tech, Jacksonville State, Temple, Florida, and UCF.
At JMU, Linam will serve under new head coach Billy Napier who takes over for Bob Chesney who was recently named the head coach at UCLA. Of course, the Dukes will play in the first round of the College Football Playoff this weekend at No. 5 Oregon. Napier has previously tabbed Robert Bala as his defensive coordinator at JMU. Bala was an analyst at Liberty in 2022 under previous Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze and heads to Harrisonburg after spending the 2025 season with Napier at Florida. Linam and the Dukes will face his former team to open the 2026 season when Liberty and James Madison play in the Battle for the Blue Ridge in Harrisonburg on Sept. 5.
Liberty is looking to rebound from a 4-8 season in 2025. The Flames were very successful in Chadwell’s first season in 2023, going 13-1, winning the CUSA Championship before advancing to the Fiesta Bowl against Oregon.
