Georgia Southern’s coaching staff is coming together.

First-year coach Jeff Monken has officially put together a six-man staff, with several spots remaining to be filled. The coaches were in attendance at Saturday’s GSU Football Banquet at the Nessmith-Lane Building on the University campus.

Brent Davis, the Eagles’ new offensive coordinator, returns to Georgia Southern after a three-year stint as offensive coordinator at Virginia Military Academy, where the Keydets led the Big South Conference in rushing all three years and led the FCS in 2008 with 357.5 yards per game.

At Georgia Southern he was the offensive line coach (2002-05). He coached the running backs before taking over the O-line.

Davis says they adjusted the playbook to the athletes at VMI, but didn’t make any drastic changes to what Georgia Southern used to do.

“It was the same system,” said Davis about VMI. “We may have been a little more diverse than what we ran (at GSU) before, out of necessity. We couldn’t just run the triple option 35 or 40 times a game. We maybe ran a little more auxiliary plays and things like that. You would recognize it if you looked at it. It’s the double-slot option and it’s the same as what we’re going to do.”

Brent Pry spent time at Louisiana-Lafayette as the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator, before spending the last three years at Memphis coaching the defensive line. He will take over the defensive coordinator roll at GSU.

The rest of the defensive staff is comprised of many coaches who have experience together – something that could help Monken spend more time with the offense.

“That’s where I’m going to concentrate most of my on-the-field time. It’s part of the deal,” Monken said. “(Pry) was the first guy I called. I talked to some other people, but it came back around. I want him to have people on that side of the ball that he knows, that he trusts, that he can game-plan with, that he’s comfortable with. I felt it was important to have continuity on that side just like we have continuity on offense.”

John Scott, Jr. also has ties to UL-Lafayette, where he got his Masters in 2006. He has coached defensive ends and outside linebackers at Western Carolina since 2005. He played four years at WCU, graduating in 2008 also coached as an assistant at Norfolk State and UL-L. He was hired at Missouri State in spring 2009 before coming to GSU as defensive line coach.

He was brought to Monken on Pry’s recommendation.

“I knew when I met him and had a chance to talk with him that I wanted to hire him on the staff,” Monken said about Scott.

Mitch Ware, another former Eagle who was the offensive coordinator and slotbacks coach from 2002-05, returns to coach the quarterbacks.

Brett Gilliland comes with Monken from Georgia Tech. He spent a year as wide receivers coach at West Alabama, his alma mater, before joining the Tech staff as a football office assistant and working with the slotbacks. He will be an offensive assistant coach.

Assistant athletics director for strength and conditioning Tom Melton returns for his sixth year at Georgia Southern.

Several other coaches await approval.

Shawn Quinn spent last season as co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Northwestern State. The previous year he was at LSU, and he spent the six years before that at Louisiana-Lafayette, after a stint as an assistant at Tennessee. His status with the Eagles has not been determined.

Matt Yogus can be reached at (912) 489-9408.