Russell Dean Pees (born September 4, 1949) 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 who is a senior advisor for the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

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 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 ...

for the Ravens,

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

, and

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 ...

. Pees was also the head coach at

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...

from 1998 to 2003, compiling a record of 17–51.

Coaching career

College football

Pees began his coaching career at Elmwood High School (Bloomdale, Ohio) after being the defensive coordinator for two years he got the head coaching position. A few years later, he was hired to start his college coaching career in 1979 at the

University of Findlay The University of Findlay (UF) is a private Christian university in Findlay, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1882 through a joint partnership between the Churches of God General Conference and the city of Findlay. UF has nearly 80 ...

as their defensive coordinator and secondary coach following six years as a high school coach. In 1983, Pees moved to

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

, where he was also the defensive coordinator and secondary coach of the team. From 1987 to 1989, Pees was the secondary coach at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

. Pees then took the defensive coordinator job, under

Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. ( ; born October 31, 1951) is an American sportscaster and former Professional gridiron football, professional and college football coach. He serves as an analyst for ESPN's ''College GameDay (football TV program), Colleg ...

, at the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a Public university, public research university in Toledo, Ohio, United States. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, ...

, which he held for four seasons with the team. Pees spent the 1994 season under head coach

Lou Holtz Louis Leo Holtz (born January 6, 1937) is an American former college football coach and television analyst. He served as the head football coach at the College of William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State University (1972–1975), the N ...

as the secondary coach for 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 ...

. From 1995 to 1997, Pees worked as the defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach again under Saban at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

. In 1998, he earned his first head coaching job at

. Pees left the program after the 2003 season with a six-year record of 17–51.

NFL

New England Patriots

Prior to the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

NFL season, Pees left Kent State for the Patriots, spending two years as the Patriots'

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 coach under head coach

Bill Belichick William Stephen Belichick ( ; born April 16, 1952) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels. Widely regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, he holds numerous coaching records, inc ...

, another Saban associate. Pees had coached alongside Bill's father, Steve Belichick, at Navy in the late 1980s. After the

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

season, Pees was promoted to defensive coordinator, replacing

Eric Mangini Eric Anthony Mangini (born January 19, 1971) is an American former professional football coach and current television sports analyst. He served as a head coach for the New York Jets from 2006 to 2008 and the Cleveland Browns from 2009 to 2010. ...

, who became the head coach of the

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

. With his contract set to expire following the

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

season, Pees chose not to return to the Patriots on January 14, 2010.

Baltimore Ravens (first stint)

On January 26, 2010, Pees was hired as the

linebackers 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 lin ...

coach for the

. On January 27, 2012, Pees was promoted to defensive coordinator by head coach

John Harbaugh John William Harbaugh ( ; born September 23, 1962) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Previously, he coached the defensive backs for the Philadelphia ...

. Pees was on the coaching staff that won

Super Bowl XLVII Super Bowl XLVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...

. Pees announced his retirement on January 1, 2018.

Tennessee Titans

On January 29, 2018, Pees was hired as the defensive coordinator for the

under head coach

Mike Vrabel Michael George Vrabel ( ; born August 14, 1975) is an American professional American football, football coach and former linebacker who is the head coach of the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college footba ...

. On January 20, 2020, Pees announced his retirement from football for the second time.

Atlanta Falcons

On January 21, 2021, Pees was hired by the

as their defensive coordinator under head coach Arthur Smith. On January 9, 2023, Pees announced his retirement from football for the third time.

Baltimore Ravens (second stint)

On October 9, 2024, the

hired Pees as a senior advisor to defensive coordinator Zach Orr.

Head coaching record

Personal life

Pees' son, Matt, is a defensive analyst for the

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 ...

. They previously worked together on the Titans and Falcons, where Matt was a quality control coach and defensive assistant, respectively, under his father.

References

External links

*
Kent State Golden Flashes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pees, Dean 1949 births Living people Baltimore Ravens coaches Findlay Oilers football coaches Kent State Golden Flashes football coaches Miami RedHawks football coaches Michigan State Spartans football coaches NFL defensive coordinators Navy Midshipmen football coaches New England Patriots coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches Tennessee Titans coaches Toledo Rockets football coaches Bowling Green State University alumni People from Hardin County, Ohio Sportspeople from Ohio Atlanta Falcons coaches