Brian VanGorder (born April 17, 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. He was the

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 ...

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...

, a position he assumed in 2019. Prior to that, he was defensive coordinator at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

. He served as the head football coach at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

from 1992 to 1994, and

Georgia Southern University Georgia Southern University (informally known as Southern or Georgia Southern) is a public university, public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The largest campus is in Statesboro, Georgia, Statesboro, with ...

in 2006, compiling a career

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 ...

record of 19–25. VanGorder was the defensive coordinator 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 ...

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) from 2008 to 2011, and also worked in the same capacity for the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

(2001–2004) and

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 ...

(2012). VanGorder is married to the former Ruth Jones. His children are Molloy, Morgan, Mack, Montgomery, Malone, and Freddie.

Coaching career

VanGorder started his coaching career in 1981 as an assistant coach at

West Bloomfield High School West Bloomfield High School is a public school (government funded), public high school in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, West Bloomfield, Michigan. The school is the only public high school in the West Bloomfield School District. The Scho ...

. He served as the head coach at three high schools in the state of Florida, including Boca Raton Academy (now the Boca Raton campus of

Pine Crest School Pine Crest School is a private preparatory school with campuses in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton, Florida. It was founded in Fort Lauderdale in 1934 by Mae McMillan, who also served as the school's first president. The ...

). VanGorder posted a record of 52–16 and was named "Coach of the Year" on seven occasions. VanGorder's 1987 American Heritage School team was ranked No. 1 in the state of Florida. He joined the college ranks in 1989 at

Grand Valley State University Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale Charter Township, Michigan, Allendale, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on ...

. VanGorder had his first head coaching opportunity from 1992 to 1994 at his alma mater,

. During his final two seasons as head coach, Wayne State recorded its first winning record in more than a decade, going 6–5 in each season. From there was a three-year stint at the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

, where he spent two years coaching

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 ...

s and

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

before being assigned to assistant head coach/defensive coordinator. From 1998 to 1999, VanGorder served as the defensive coordinator at

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a Public university, public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1892 as a private normal school and became a state institution in 1895. CMU is one of the eigh ...

, After Central Michigan, VanGorder was the defensive coordinator during the 2000 season at Western Illinois University. The Leathernecks ended the year 9–2, and finished eighth nationally in passing efficiency defense and 12th in both passing defense and total defense while allowing just 17.6 points per game. In 2001, he was hired as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at the

. During his first year as defensive coordinator in 2001, the Bulldogs allowed just 18.9 points per game, ended up fifth in rushing defense and ranked 17th in scoring defense. The 2002 season saw VanGorder's defense not only lead the SEC in scoring defense, but finished fourth nationally. The Bulldogs allowed less than 15 points per game during the season on their way to eventually winning the Sugar Bowl and finishing third in the final national poll. For his performance, VanGorder named as the seventh recipient of the Valvoline Southern Sports Tonight Assistant Coach of the Year. In 2003, VanGorder's defense ranked third nationally in scoring defense, fourth in total defense and sixth in passing defense. In turn, VanGorder received the Frank Boyles "Assistant Coach of the Year" award, which honors the nation's top assistant coach. During his final season at Georgia in 2004, the 10–2 Bulldogs were ranked seventh in the final national poll as VanGorder's defense finished the season ranked eighth and ninth in scoring defense. During his Georgia tenure, six of VanGorder's players were selected in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft, including defensive tackle Johnathan Sullivan, safety Thomas Davis and defensive end

David Pollack David M. Pollack (born June 19, 1982) is an American college football analyst and former player who was a linebacker two seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Georgia, was a three-time ...

in the first round, and safety Sean Jones and linebackers Boss Bailey, as well as

Odell Thurman Odell Lamar Thurman (born July 9, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs and was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals ...

in the second round. During his four years at Georgia the Bulldogs defense only gave up 30 points one time, against LSU in the 2003 SEC Championship Game. In 2005 VanGorder was hired as 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 ...

linebackers coach, and he only served one year with the Jaguars before being hired as the head coach for the

Georgia Southern Eagles The Georgia Southern Eagles are the athletic team(s) of Georgia Southern University (GS). The Eagles compete in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A) and are members of the NCAA Division I Sun Belt Conference. Prior to jo ...

on December 9, 2005. VanGorder resigned after finishing his only season at 3–8, the Eagles' then-worst record in the program's modern history. On December 19, 2007 VanGorder was named defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. Five weeks later, on January 24, 2008,

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

reported that VanGorder would leave to join new

head coach Mike Smith's staff as their defensive coordinator. On January 9, 2012, VanGorder was hired by

coach

Gene Chizik Eugene C. Chizik Jr. (born December 28, 1961) is an American football coach who was most recently the defensive coordinator and Assistant Head Coach for Defense at North Carolina. A veteran of the coaching ranks, Chizik previously was UNC's defen ...

as defensive coordinator. He replaced

Ted Roof Terrence Edwin Roof Jr. (born December 11, 1963) is an American college football coach and former player. He was most recently the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the UCF Knights. He previously served as the defensive coordinator ...

who departed for the defensive coordinator position at the

. On December 28, 2013, just hours after winning the 2013 Pinstripe Bowl, the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

announced VanGorder will take over as defensive coordinator, replacing

Bob Diaco Robert Albert Diaco (born February 19, 1973) is an American American football, football coach and a former linebacker. He is the defensive line coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels football, North Carolina Tar Heels of the Atlantic Coast Confer ...

, who took over as head football coach at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

. He was terminated only four games into the 2016 season, on September 25. VanGorder announced his retirement from coaching college football in 2021 and became the defensive coordinator at Gulf Shores High School in Alabama under

Mark Hudspeth Mark Douglas Hudspeth (born November 10, 1968) is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at Gulf Shores High School in Gulf Shores, Alabama, a position he has held since 2021. Hudspeth served as the head foot ...

. In December of 2021, VanGorder became the head coach for American Heritage School's Palm Beach campus. He resigned in March of 2023 after a 2-7 season.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vangorder, Brian 1959 births Living people Atlanta Falcons coaches Auburn Tigers football coaches Bowling Green Falcons football coaches Central Michigan Chippewas football coaches Georgia Bulldogs football coaches Georgia Southern Eagles football coaches Grand Valley State Lakers football coaches Jacksonville Jaguars coaches NFL defensive coordinators New York Jets coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches Oklahoma State Cowboys football coaches UCF Knights football coaches Wayne State Warriors football coaches Wayne State Warriors football players Western Illinois Leathernecks football coaches High school football coaches in Alabama High school football coaches in Florida High school football coaches in Michigan Sportspeople from Jackson, Michigan Coaches of American football from Michigan Players of American football from Michigan