Career
A native of Brawley, California, Skipper was an all-conference selection at Imperial Valley College, where he led the league in kickoff returns. He then transferred to Whittier College, where he played defensive back and he paced the conference in punt returns during his career. Skipper holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in physical education from Whittier.
Jim Skipper began his coaching career at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, where he coached the defensive backs from 1974-1976.
After coaching the defensive backs for two seasons at San Jose State University, Skipper moved to the offensive side of the ball, coaching the running backs at University of the Pacific in 1979. He then went on to coach the running backs at University of Oregon from 1980-1982 before he made the jump to the professional ranks.
Skipper started his professional coaching career with the Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars of the United States Football League from 1983-1985. He then moved on to the National Football League with the New Orleans Saints.
Starting in 1986, Skipper served as the running back coach till 1995.
During his 10-year tenure with New Orleans, Skipper coached two Pro Bowlers, Rueben Mayes in 1986 and 1987 and Dalton Hilliard in 1989. Mayes" 1,353 yards in 1986 and Hilliard"s 1,262 in 1989 still stand among the 10 highest single-season rushing totals in Saints history. He became the running backs coach for the Carolina Panthers since 2002.
In 2009, Skipper helped make NFL history as two of his running backs, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, became the first set of teammates ever to rush for over 1100 yards in the same season.
He was announced as the running backs coach for the Tennessee Titans on February 18, 2011. Rueben Mayes- 1986
Rueben Mayes- 1987
Dalton Hilliard- 1989
Larry Centers- 1996
Stephen Davis- 2003
DeAngelo Williams- 2009
Mike Tolbert- 2013
Rueben Mayes- 1986
Dalton Hilliard- 1989
Gary Brown- 1998
Tiki Barber- 2000
Stephen Davis- 2003
DeAngelo Williams- 2008
Jonathan Stewart- 2009
DeAngelo Williams- 2009
Chris Johnson (running back)- 2011
Chris Johnson (running back)- 2012.