Nathan Troy Calhoun (born September 26, 1966) is an

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

coach and former player. He is the head football coach at the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Un ...

, a position he has held since the 2007 season.

Early life and playing career

Calhoun was born in

McMinnville, Oregon McMinnville is the county seat of and largest city in Yamhill County, Oregon, United States. The city is named after McMinnville, Tennessee. As of the 2019 census, the city had a population estimate of 34,743. McMinnville is at the confluence o ...

in 1966, although his family moved to

Roseburg, Oregon Roseburg is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is in the Umpqua River Valley in southern Oregon and is the county seat and most populous city of Douglas County. Founded in 1851, the population was 23,683 at the 2020 census, making it the ...

when Calhoun was just three years old. Calhoun attended Roseburg High School, where he played football under longtime Roseburg coach Thurman Bell. Along with Bell, Calhoun also counts Dayton High coach Dewey Sullivan—a Calhoun family friend—as an early influence. Calhoun joined the Air Force Academy in 1985, becoming one of just two freshmen to letter on the 1985 Falcons team that finished 12–1.

Coaching career

Assistant coaching

After graduating from the

in 1989, Calhoun served on the Air Force coaching staff under

Fisher DeBerry James Fisher DeBerry (born June 8, 1938) is a retired American football player. He served as the head football coach at the United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy ...

as a graduate assistant during the 1989–90 seasons. After serving out his military commitment, he went on to serve as the Falcons' recruiting coordinator and the junior varsity offensive coordinator over the 1993–94 seasons. MountainWestMD-2016-0726-TroyCalhoun

In 1995, he moved to

Ohio University Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subsequ ...

where he served as the quarterbacks coach for two seasons, and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 1997. During his first season with

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, his offense had measurable success, particularly in a game against Eastern Michigan, in which the school totaled 612 yards, second most in school history. The team also captured a win against

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

in 1997, which was Ohio's first victory over a school from the ACC. The following week, Ohio fell three points short of defeating Kansas State. In Calhoun's final year at Ohio in 2000, the offense set a school record with 418.1 yards per game and rushed for a school-best 3,553. The Bobcats also ended the season with wins over two bowl teams,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

and Marshall. Calhoun became offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private university, private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, North Carolina, Wake Forest, north of Rale ...

in 2001. During Calhoun's second season, the

Demon Deacons A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ...

led the ACC in total offense with 408.1 yards per game, with a league-best 990 plays and only 16 turnovers. Calhoun began his NFL career with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

as a defensive assistant in 2003, and later moved to offense and special teams. When Broncos offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak was hired as the Texans' head coach, Kubiak brought Calhoun along and made Calhoun his offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Calhoun finished out the 2006 season with the Texans before taking over at Air Force.

Air Force

Calhoun was hired on December 22, 2006 to be the head football coach for Air Force, replacing DeBerry who retired after 23 years as the Falcons' head coach. In his first season as head coach of the Falcons, he took the team to a 9–3 record, and a spot in the

Armed Forces Bowl The Armed Forces Bowl, formerly the Fort Worth Bowl from 2003 to 2005, is an annual postseason college football bowl game. First played in 2003, the game is normally held at the 45,000-seat Amon G. Carter Stadium on the campus of Texas Christian ...

against

Cal Cal or CAL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Cal'' (novel), a 1983 novel by Bernard MacLaverty * "Cal" (short story), a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov * ''Cal'' (1984 film), an Irish drama starring John Lynch and Helen Mir ...

. On December 4, 2007, Calhoun was named Mountain West Coach of the Year for 2007.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Air Force profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calhoun, Troy 1966 births Living people American football quarterbacks Air Force Falcons football coaches Air Force Falcons football players Denver Broncos coaches Houston Texans coaches National Football League offensive coordinators Ohio Bobcats football coaches Wake Forest Demon Deacons football coaches Sportspeople from McMinnville, Oregon Sportspeople from Roseburg, Oregon Players of American football from Oregon Military personnel from Oregon