Reginald Wayne Herring (born July 3, 1959) 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 and most recently the linebackers coach for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

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). A former

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

, he began his coaching career in 1981. He has now coached for 36 years across college and the NFL. Herring arrived in Denver to coach linebackers in 2015 after previous stops in the league with Chicago (2014), Houston (2002–03, ’11–13) and Dallas (2008–10). Herring has coached nine linebackers who have made Pro Bowl appearances during their careers, including defensive end Mario Williams (4), outside linebackers

DeMarcus Ware DeMarcus Omar Ware (born July 31, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Troy State Trojans and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys ...

, (9)

Connor Barwin Connor Alfred Barwin (born October 15, 1986) is an American professional American football, football executive and former player who is the head of football development and strategy for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NF ...

(1), and inside linebackers

Zach Thomas Zachary Michael Thomas (born September 1, 1973), nicknamed "Baby Elephant", is an American former professional American football, football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He played college foo ...

(7),

Keith Brooking Keith Howard Brooking (born October 30, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and was selected by the ...

(5), Lance Briggs (7), Brian Cushing (1), Sean Lee (2) and DeMeco Ryans (2). Herring also served as the interim head football coach for the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

in the

2008 Cotton Bowl Classic The 2008 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 2008, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, USA. The Cotton Bowl Classic was part of the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season and one of 32 games in t ...

College career

Herring played at

from 1978 to 1980, earning his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

criminology Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...

. As a player, he was a three-year starting linebacker, leading the team in tackles for three consecutive years. His 452 total tackles in his career ranks him third all-time for tackles in Florida State history and his 170 tackles during his 1980 senior season also ranks him third on the single-season tackle list. During his career with the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...

, he played in two Orange Bowls and one Tangerine Bowl, serving as team captain for the 1980 team that made it to the Orange Bowl. His final two years at FSU, the Seminoles finished 11–1 and 10–2 and ranked in the top 10 in the final AP poll. In 1989, Herring was inducted into the Florida State Hall of Fame.

Coaching career

Early career

Herring first served as a graduate assistant coach at

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

in 1981 under head coach Jimmy Johnson. After one year, Johnson promoted Herring to coach OSU's linebackers, a position that he would hold until 1985. During this time, Herring worked with quarterbacks coach

Houston Nutt Houston Dale Nutt Jr. (born October 14, 1957) is an American former college football coach and player. He formerly worked for CBS Sports as a college football studio analyst. Previously, he served as the head football coach at Murray State Univer ...

, under whom Herring would later serve as defensive coordinator at the

. In 1986, Herring left OSU to coach linebackers at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

under head coach

Pat Dye Patrick Fain Dye (November 6, 1939 – June 1, 2020) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at East Carolina University (1974–1979), the University of Wyoming (1980), ...

. At Auburn, Herring helped lead the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is tradition ...

to three consecutive SEC titles from 1987 to 1989. In 1992, Herring was offered his first

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

position, though he continued to coach linebackers, at

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private university, private research university in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison Clark, Addison and Randolph Clark as the AddRan Male & Female College. It i ...

. After two years at TCU, Herring left to coach linebackers at

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

. Herring was promoted to defensive coordinator for the

for the 1997 season, and held that position through the 2001 season. The Tigers made six bowl appearances during that stretch as seven of Herring's linebackers were selected in the NFL Draft. In 2002, Herring accepted a position in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a 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 Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

with the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

to coach linebackers, after having been on the job as defensive coordinator at

Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

for less than a month. Although Herring only held the Texans position for two years, he coached the 2003 league-leader in tackles,

Jamie Sharper Harry James Sharper Jr. (born November 23, 1974) is an American football coach and former player. Sharper played professionally as a linebacker for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL), and played college football for the Virgin ...

. In 2004, Herring left the NFL to become defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

. In his first year at North Carolina State, the Wolfpack defense led the nation in total defense after ranking 89th in that category the year prior.

Arkansas

In 2005, Herring left North Carolina State for a defensive coordinator position with

at the

. At Arkansas, Herring improved the Razorback defense in almost every statistical category. In the 2006 season, Herring led a defense ranked 44th out of 119

Division I-A The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

FBS teams. For his performance in the 2006 season, Herring was a finalist for the

Broyles Award The Broyles Award is an annual award given to honor the best assistant coach in college football. First awarded in 1996, it was named after former University of Arkansas men's athletic director Frank Broyles. The award is presented in Little ...

, given annually the nation's top assistant coach in college football. On November 26, 2007, after

was forced to resign, Herring was announced as the interim coach of the Razorbacks for the

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its Cotton Bowl (stadium), namesake ...

. The 24th-

ranked A ranking is a relationship between a set of items, often recorded in a list, such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than", or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak ...

Razorbacks lost the game 38–7 to 7th-ranked

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. He had said about the Capital One Bowl that his team needed to "...punch Mickey Mouse in the mouth."

Texas A&M

On January 4, 2008, Herring was named the defensive coordinator at

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

by head coach

Mike Sherman Michael Francis Sherman (born December 19, 1954) is an American gridiron football coach and former player who most recently was the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was the head coach of the Green B ...

. Herring took part in the Aggies' 2008 recruiting, and resigned after

National Signing Day National Signing Day has traditionally been the first day that a high school senior can sign a binding National Letter of Intent for a collegiate sport with a school that is a Division II member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ...

to return to the NFL and become the linebackers coach at 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 ...

Dallas Cowboys

Herring was hired by the

on February 8, 2008. He worked as the team's linebacker position coach under head coach

Wade Phillips Harold Wade Phillips (born June 21, 1947) is a former American football coach. He has served as head coach of the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, Houston Roughnecks and San Antonio Brahmas. He has also served as interim head coa ...

. With the help of his tutelage, the Cowboys led the

in quarterback sacks (59) during the 2008 season. As linebackers coach for Dallas from 2008 to 2010, Herring helped outside linebacker

deliver the most productive three-season stretch of his career.

Houston Texans

Herring joined new

defensive coordinator

in January 2011. Herring coached in his second stint with the Texans from 2011 to 2013. He was part of a staff that helped turn the league's 30th-ranked defensive unit into a group that ranked fourth overall (308.8 ypg) during his three years with the club.

Chicago Bears

Herring joined

Marc Trestman Marc Marlyn Trestman (born January 15, 1956) is an American professional football coach. He led the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) to back-to-back Grey Cup victories in 2009 and 2010, and another as head coach of the T ...

's coaching staff as

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

linebackers coach on January 22, 2014. However, he was released by the team on January 20, 2015.

Denver Broncos

Herring joined

Gary Kubiak Gary Wayne Kubiak (born August 15, 1961) is an American former professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a quarterback for the Denver Broncos before coaching, serving as head coach for the Houst ...

's coaching staff as

linebackers coach on January 26, 2015. Herring helped Denver's defensive transition to a 3–4 alignment in 2015. On February 7, 2016, Herring was part of the Broncos coaching staff that won

Super Bowl 50 Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) ...

. In the game, the Broncos defeated the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

by a score of 24–10. Coaching Denver's inside linebackers for the last three seasons, Herring helped lead a defense that allowed a league-low 296.4 yards per game during that span.

Personal life

Herring is married to the former Lisa Ward of

Griffin, Georgia Griffin is a city in and the county seat of Spalding County, Georgia, Spalding County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a po ...

. The couple has a daughter, Caroline, and a son, Adam, who is a former linebacker on the Auburn football team and now coaches at

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

Head coaching record

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herring, Reggie 1959 births Living people American football linebackers Arkansas Razorbacks football coaches Auburn Tigers football coaches Chicago Bears coaches Clemson Tigers football coaches Dallas Cowboys coaches Denver Broncos coaches Florida State Seminoles football players Houston Texans coaches NC State Wolfpack football coaches Oklahoma State Cowboys football coaches Sportspeople from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Players of American football from Horry County, South Carolina TCU Horned Frogs football coaches Texas A&M Aggies football coaches