Kris Richard (born October 28, 1979) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach and former player who is the

defensive backs coach In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

, and

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

Playing career

High school

Richard prepped at Serra High School in

Gardena, California Gardena is a city located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 61,027 at the 2020 census, up from 58,829 at the 2010 census. Until 2014, the U.S. census cited the City of Gardena as the ...

College

Richard attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, where he played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

as a cornerback under coach Paul Hackett and

Pete Carroll Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as head coach for the NCAA's ...

from 1998 to 2001.

National Football League

He was drafted by the

in the 3rd round (85th overall) in the

2002 NFL draft The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted ...

. He played for the Seahawks for three seasons. He was traded to the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

for Ronald Flemons in 2005. He was signed by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

in 2005 and the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

in 2007.

Coaching career

USC

Richard was hired in 2008 by Carroll as a graduate assistant coach for the USC secondary (

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

s).

Seattle Seahawks

He followed Carroll to the NFL and joined his former team, the Seahawks, as secondary coach. Richard was instrumental to the formation of the Legion of Boom defensive secondary. He helped coach and develop players such as Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas,

Kam Chancellor Kameron Darnel Chancellor (born April 3, 1988), nicknamed "Bam Bam Kam", is an American former professional football safety who spent his entire nine-year career with the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played colleg ...

Brandon Browner Brandon Kemar Browner (born August 2, 1984) is an American former professional football player who played as a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots, and New Orleans Saints, and in the C ...

Byron Maxwell Byron S. Maxwell (born February 23, 1988) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL draft, where he ...

and for his rookie season only, Shaquill Griffin. ''

Bleacher Report ''Bleacher Report'' (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sports and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. ''Bleacher Report'' was acquired by Time Warner's Turner B ...

'' described the Legion of Boom's accomplishments as a credit not only to Richard, but to Carroll, who was a safety himself in his playing days and began his coaching career as a secondary coach. He won his first Super Bowl title when the Seahawks defeated the Denver Broncos in

Super Bowl XLVIII Super Bowl XLVIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2013 Denver Broncos season, Denver Broncos and National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2013 Seattle Seahawks season, Seattle Seahawks to ...

. After losing

Super Bowl XLIX Super Bowl XLIX was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2014 NFL season, 2014 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2014 New England Patriots season, New Eng ...

, the Seahawks promoted Richard to defensive coordinator to replace Dan Quinn, who had left to become the head coach for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

. As the defensive coordinator for the Seahawks, Richard's defense ranked first in points allowed for the 2015 season, third in 2016 and thirteenth in 2017. Richard was relieved of his defensive coordinator duties following the 2017 season.

Dallas Cowboys

On January 22, 2018, Richard was hired by the

as their passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach. He was credited with the decision to move Byron Jones to cornerback fulltime, who went on to receive

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

honors. He was given the defensive play-calling duties from defensive coordinator

Rod Marinelli Rodney Henry Marinelli (born July 13, 1949) is a former American football coach. For 48 consecutive years, he had been a defensive coach for several college and professional teams, serving primarily as a defensive line coach when not assigned as ...

. During his time with the Cowboys he was seen as a head coach candidate around the league and had interviews with 4 teams (Buccaneers, Jets, Dolphins and Giants). On January 13, 2020, it was reported that Richard would not be retained by Dallas following the removal of head coach

Jason Garrett Jason Calvin Garrett (born March 28, 1966) is an American former professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He was most notably the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys from 2010 to 2019. Garrett played college f ...

New Orleans Saints

On February 2, 2021, Richard was hired by the

as their defensive backs coach under head coach

Sean Payton Patrick Sean Payton (born December 29, 1963) is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Previously, he served as the head coach of the Ne ...

, replacing

Aaron Glenn Aaron Devone Glenn (born July 16, 1972) is an American professional football coach and former cornerback who is the head coach for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the defensive coordinator for the ...

, who departed to become the defensive coordinator for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. On February 1, 2023, Richard parted ways with the Saints.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On February 22, 2024, Richard was named defensive backs coach for the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richard, Kris 1979 births Living people American football cornerbacks Miami Dolphins players Oakland Raiders players Players of American football from Carson, California Sportspeople from Gardena, California San Francisco 49ers players Seattle Seahawks coaches Seattle Seahawks players USC Trojans football coaches USC Trojans football players NFL defensive coordinators Dallas Cowboys coaches New Orleans Saints coaches Junípero Serra High School (Gardena, California) alumni Coaches of American football from California