Baylor Football joined a grieving community this week after a highway crash claimed two lives right at the start of a new school year. The stadium lights will turn back on in East Bernard, but the sidelines will feel empty without one of its finest.

The East Bernard High School community lost its head football coach and athletic director when Jeremy Shane Jenkins, 51, and his wife, Brandy Renee Jenkins, 46, died in a car accident. Brandy worked as a teacher at East Bernard Junior High School. 

Baylor Football shared a social media post featuring a black-and-white photo of Jeremy and Brandy. “Our Deepest Condolences to the Jenkins family and East Bernard Community Jeremy/” 

The accident happened on Saturday night, August 15, 2026, at 10:07 p.m. Jenkins was driving a 2025 Tesla Model Y northbound on State Highway 60 near County Road 210 in Wharton County. Authorities pronounced Jeremy and Brandy dead at the scene. 

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A memorial service was held on Saturday, August 22, at Sugar Creek Baptist Church in Sugarland, Texas, to honor Brandy Jenkins and Jeremy Jenkins. As per KHOU 11, the district superintendent Courtney Hudgins spoke at the service and praised the impact of the Jenkins on the local community.

“None of us today will ever capture who these two people are in the words today. We’re all heartbroken, but I’m so thankful…that they came into our lives,” Hudgins said. “And I promise we’re going to take care of the boys, maybe more than you want me to.

Over seven years as a head coach from 2019 to 2025, Jenkins had a 67-24 overall record and a 16-7 mark in the playoffs. Jenkins never finished a season with fewer than five wins. 

His journey included a 9-2 run at Mount Enterprise in 2019 and a 19-6 stint over two years at Tenaha. He then guided Harmony to a 19-9 record from 2022 to 2023, where he led a 0-4 team all the way to the Class 3A Division II state semifinals. He carried the same momentum to East Bernard and finished with a 10-2 record in 2024 and 10-5 last season.

Jenkins was completely prepared for his third season at East Bernard, and the home opener against Sweeny was set for August 28. After the crash, the school named offensive coordinator and assistant principal Daniel Ball as the interim head coach and athletic director. 

Now, a program that was hoping for another playoff run has to figure out how to deal with this loss.

Texas Football Community rallies around the Jenkins family

The Brahmas started 2025 in a tough 0-3 hole, but Jenkins kept them focused, and they won 10 of their next 11 games. 

His last game as a head coach came on December 11, 2025. East Bernard lost 74-20 to Newton in the Class 3A Division II state semifinals and finished the season with a 10-5 record. 

Brandy was just as important to the daily life of the school community. She had just started a new teaching role at East Bernard Junior High after previously working at Katy ISD and Harmony. 

The couple leaves behind three sons. Tyson, 20, graduated from Harmony and spent time coaching at East Bernard. Gage, 18, and Jake, 16, both currently play football for East Bernard High School.

The family also saw public tributes pour in from Jeremy’s brother, Greg Jenkins, who works as the athletic director and head basketball coach at Martins Mill.

UIL athletics director Ray Zepeda shared a community fundraiser, and the Jenkins Brothers Benefit Fund was created to help Tyson, Gage, and Jake handle upcoming education and living expenses. Teneha AD Terry Ward is also participating in the efforts to raise money.

“Obviously donating money will never replace the loss that those boys have seen, but we just want to show them that their parents were important to us,” Ward told KTRE 9.

Several other East Texas schools, including Joaquin, Ore City and Linden-Kildare, have also joined the fundraiser.