RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas Tech head football coach Roy Thompson has announced his finalized coaching staff for the upcoming 2026 season, his second at the helm for the Wonder Boys. In that announcement, Thompson has elevated Bailey Proctor to a full-time position coaching the linebackers while adding veteran coach Chad Adams to the defensive line and John Pasley as the tight ends coach.
 
"We are excited to add Coach Adams to our defensive staff," said Thompson. "Any time you can add someone with his championship pedigree to a staff, you know it will make an immediate impact for our players and program." 
 
"Coach Proctor and Pasley are future stars in the business. They are great recruiters and bring a new exciting level of knowledge and energy to our program," added Thompson. "We feel that all of these men fit well into the culture we are building here at Arkansas Tech and are excited to have them."
 
Bailey Proctor
Proctor is set to enter his second season on staff after spending the 2025 season as a graduate assistant coach where he coached the running backs.
 
In that first year, Proctor helped mentor a running back group that averaged 164.3 yards per game and scored 19 rushing touchdowns. The running back room also produced the first 1,000-yard individual running back since 2015.
 
This season, Proctor will move to the other side of the ball and coach linebackers.
 
Chad Adams
A veteran coach with over 20 years of experience across the NCAA DII, NAIA, NJCAA and high school football, Adams is set to make his return to the collegiate level as the defensive line coach at Tech after spending the last four years coaching defenses in the prep ranks in Texas.
 
No stranger to the GAC, Adams has made previous stops at Northwestern Oklahoma, Ouachita Baptist and Southern Arkansas. At all three of those, Adams led the defensive efforts, serving as the program's defensive coordinator.
 
Adams' most-recent collegiate stint came at SAU where his defenses consistently were in the top tier of the GAC and ranked highly in the region and nation. In his first two years, Adams helped lead the Muleriders to a pair of eight-win seasons and consecutive bowl game appearances.
 
Prior to his time at SAU, Adams had a two-year stint as defensive coordinator at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Fla. While there, Adams helped lead the Fire to a 15-5 overall record, a pair of conference championships, and consecutive appearances in the NAIA National Championship Series playoffs.
 
Before his stint at Southeastern, Adams headed up the defense for three seasons at Ouachita Baptist. From 2013-2015, Adams helped the Tigers go 24-8 overall and 24-7 in the Great American Conference. In 2014, Ouachita went undefeated in the regular season (10-0) en route to claiming their first outright conference title and making their first NCAA Division II Playoff appearance as well after earning a first-round bye.
 
Statistically, Adams' defenses at Ouachita ranked among the top-four in the GAC each year in scoring defense.
 
Before Ouachita, Adams had a year-long stop as the assistant head coach and co-defensive coordinator at Hutchinson Community College in 2012. Prior to that, Adams spent four seasons as the DC at Northwestern Oklahoma State from 2008-2011 and helped the Rangers begin their transition from NAIA to NCAA DII. Additionally, five years prior to being the DC at NWOSU, Adams was there as a graduate assistant for the 2003 season that saw the Rangers finish runner-up in NAIA after falling in that year's National Championship game.
 
Adams' additional coaching experience has seen him spend time at Fort Scott Community College (2006-07), the University of Central Missouri (2005), and Coffeyville Community College (2004).
 
Overall, for his career, Adams has appeared in six national playoffs and coached in five bowl games.
 
John Pasley
Pasley joins the Wonder Boys coaching staff as the tight ends coach. Prior to coming to Tech, Pasley spent the spring 2026 semester at Georgia Military College where he was the tight ends coach as well. Before that, Pasley was at Alabama State where he spent time as both an undergraduate student assistant as well as a graduate assistant.
 
Pasley also comes with experience on the other side of the ball as he was a defensive assistant at Bethel University, coaching alongside the defensive line and cornerbacks.