Grant Heard | |
Current Conference: | Big 12 |
Birth Date: | 4 March 1978 |
Birth Place: | Lake Jackson, Texas |
Player Years1: | 1996–2000 |
Player Team1: | Ole Miss |
Player Positions: | Wide receiver |
Coach Years1: | 2002 |
Coach Team1: | Jackson Prep (MS) (QB/WR/ST) |
Coach Years2: | 2003 |
Coach Team2: | Hargrave (WR) |
Coach Years3: | 2004 |
Coach Team3: | NC State (GA) |
Coach Years4: | 2005–2006 |
Coach Team4: | Ole Miss (GA) |
Coach Years5: | 2007 |
Coach Team5: | Western Michigan (WR) |
Coach Years6: | 2008–2009 |
Coach Team6: | Lambuth (OC) |
Coach Years7: | 2010–2011 |
Coach Team7: | Arkansas State (PGC/QB) |
Coach Years8: | 2012–2016 |
Coach Team8: | Ole Miss (WR) |
Coach Years9: | 2017–2019 |
Coach Team9: | Indiana (PGC/WR) |
Coach Years10: | 2020–2021 |
Coach Team10: | Indiana (co-OC/WR) |
Coach Years11: | 2022–2023 |
Coach Team11: | UCF (WR) |
Grant Heard (born March 4, 1978) is an American football coach and former player and former wide receivers coach for UCF. He played college football at the University of Mississippi.
Heard was a wide receiver for Ole Miss from 1996 to 2000, where he participated in four bowl games and finished his career as the all-time leader in career receptions and touchdowns.[1] He is still among the top ten in career receiving yards, receptions, and touchdowns. He signed with the San Francisco 49ers in 2001, only appearing in the preseason. He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2002, but was assigned to NFL Europe.
Heard began his coaching career at Jackson Preparatory School in 2002 as the team's quarterbacks, wide receivers, and special teams coach. He spent 2003 as the wide receivers coach at Hargrave Military Academy, where Hargrave had a 8–1 record in his lone season there. He left to be a graduate assistant at NC State in 2004, and left to be a graduate assistant at his alma mater Ole Miss in 2005. He spent two seasons at Ole Miss before leaving to be the wide receivers coach at Western Michigan in 2007.[2] He left to be the offensive coordinator at Lambuth University under Hugh Freeze in 2008. He spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons with the team before leaving to be the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Arkansas State under newly hired offensive coordinator Freeze.[3] After Freeze was named the head coach at Ole Miss in 2012, Heard followed him to Oxford to be the wide receivers coach for his alma mater. He spent five seasons at Ole Miss, leaving after the 2016 season.[4] Heard was named the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach on Tom Allen's staff at Indiana in 2017.[5] He was promoted to co-offensive coordinator in 2020.[6] In March 2022, Heard was hired to be the new wide receivers coach at the University of Central Florida, starting in the 2022 season.