Carlin B. "Jeep" Carpenter (born c. 1938 or 1939) is an American former college athletic director, college football coach, and wrestling coach. He was the head football coach for Bluffton College—now known as Bluffton University—from 1979 to 2002.
In 1964, Carpenter began his coaching career as an assistant coach for his alma mater, Nelsonville-York High School.[3] He coached for Amanda-Clearcreek High School in 1966.[4][5] In 1968, Carpenter was hired as a graduate assistant for Ohio under head coach Bill Hess.[6] In 1970, he joined his college alma mater, Defiance, as an assistant coach under head coach Roger Merb.[7] He returned to Ohio the following year as the defensive line coach and head football coach for the freshman team.[8][9][10][11] In 1975, he joined fellow Ohio assistant coach Frank Ellwood as his defensive coordinator when he was hired as head coach for Marshall.[12][13][14] In 1979, Carpenter earned his first head coaching job as the head coach for Bluffton.[15][16] In 25 years with the school he led them to a 100–127–1 overall record.[17][18] He won two conference championships with the team in 1994 and 2000.[17] They also made two trips to the NAIA Division II playoffs and won a playoff game in 1988.[17] He retired following the 2002 season.[19]
In 1966, Carpenter was the head wrestling coach for Amana-Clearcreek High School.[20] In 1970, he was hired as the head wrestling coach for Defiance.[7]
Military career and athletic director career
Following Carpenter's high school graduation from Nelsonville-York High School, he served in the United States Navy for four years.[7][10]