Everett Rowe Withers (born June 15, 1963) 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 at FIU, and was the

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 coach for the

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

and as the head coach for the

Texas State Bobcats The Texas State Bobcats are the sports teams that represent Texas State University. Currently, they compete in the Sun Belt Conference in NCAA Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision for football). The Bobcat has been the mascot of Texas State Uni ...

. Withers served as head football coach at

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

during the 2011 season, at

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public university, public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1908, the institution was renamed in 1938 in honor of the fourth president of the ...

in the 2014 and 2015 seasons, and as the interim

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

following

Stan Drayton Stanley Drayton (born March 11, 1971) is an American football coach who is currently the running backs coach at Penn State Nittany Lions football, Penn State. He previously served as the head football coach at Temple Owls football, Temple. He for ...

's firing in 2024.

Early years

Withers was born in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

on June 15, 1963. He attended

West Charlotte High School West Charlotte High School (also called Dub-C or WC) is a comprehensive high school in west Charlotte, near Beatties Ford Road in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is state-funded. History West Charlotte High School was founded in 1938. The original ...

and later attended

Appalachian State University Appalachian State University (), or App State, is a Public university, public research university in Boone, North Carolina, United States. It was founded as a normal school, teachers' college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and th ...

for college, graduating in 1985. He was a standout

for the Mountaineers and a captain.

Coaching career

Withers started his coaching career at

Austin Peay State University Austin Peay State University (APSU) () is a public university in Clarksville, Tennessee, United States. Standing on a site occupied by a succession of educational institutions since 1845, the precursor of the university was established in 1927 ...

as the defensive coordinator in 1988. He then proceeded to coach wide receivers and special teams at Austin Peay before moving on to coach outside linebackers at

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

in 1991. A year later he went to the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bac ...

to coach defensive backs. Withers then moved to 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), joining the

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 ...

as a defensive quality controller in 1994. He then took the job of 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 ...

, serving from 1995 to 1997. He then joined the

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 ...

coaching staff as the defensive backs coach in 1998. In 2001, he went back to the NFL to take the job of defensive backs coach of the

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 ...

. In 2007, he took the job of defensive coordinator at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

. He then took the defensive coordinator job at the

(UNC) in 2008. He was promoted to interim head coach from the defensive coordinator position after

Butch Davis Paul Hilton "Butch" Davis Jr. (born November 17, 1951) is an American football coach. He was most recently the head football coach at Florida International University. After graduating from the University of Arkansas, he became an assistant coll ...

was fired on July 27, 2011.

Coaching successes

Withers has made accomplishments at several of his coaching stops, both college and the NFL. While he was the defensive backs coach of the Titans, they achieved a top ten defensive ranking in 2002, his first season with the Titans. From 2002 to 2004, the Titans grabbed 57 interceptions, the best ever for a three-year span for the franchise, fourth best in the AFC and eighth best in the NFL. The Titans tallied 21 picks in 2004, with 16 coming from the Withers coached secondary. In his first year with the Tar Heels, his defense totaled 20 interceptions, one shy of the school record for interceptions in a year. 2009 was an elite year for Withers's defense as they ranked sixth in total defense in the nation. They ranked 10th against the run, 13th in scoring defense and 14th in pass defense. The UNC defense was the only defense in the nation that was ranked in the top 15 in total yards allowed, scoring defense, run defense, pass defense, pass-efficiency defense, third down defense and tackles for loss. The Carolina defense totaled 19 interceptions and set an ACC record with 508 interception return yards. In 2010, the Tar Heels matched their interception total of 2009 with 19 picks. The Heels also ranked fourth in the ACC and 30th nationally in defense, even with injuries that made Withers play a different lineup every game. During the three total years that Withers was defensive coordinator of the Tar Heels, they totaled 58 interceptions.

2011 season

With Withers leading the Tar Heels as the new head coach the 2011 season got started with many distractions. The Tar Heels beat their first opponent, FCS school

42–10.

Bryn Renner Bryn Renner (born January 22, 1990) is an American football coach and former quarterback who was most recently the quarterbacks coach at FIU in 2021 and the quarterbacks coach at La Jolla High School from 2022 to 2023. He played college footbal ...

set the single game school record for completion percentage at 95.7%. The Heels then beat

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

24–22, holding the Scarlet Knights to one total yard rushing and 244 yards overall. The week after, the

South's Oldest Rivalry The South's Oldest Rivalry is the name given to the North Carolina–Virginia football rivalry. It is an American college football rivalry game played annually by the Virginia Cavaliers football team of the University of Virginia and the Nor ...

was resumed, as Carolina beat the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

28–17. UNC rushed for 222 total yards for an average of 5.4 yards per carry. The Heels then traveled to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

to play #25

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

, dropping this one 35–28. Georgia Tech had 312 yards rushing and 496 yards total on the day. Next the Heels played

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...

beating them 35–20. The Heels then proceeded to beat the

14–7. Giovani Bernard became the first Tar Heel rusher in 27 years to rush for over 100 yards in four straight games. Bernard extended his streak of 100 yard rushing games to five in UNC's 30–24 loss to

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

. The Heels recovered an onside kick with under a minute to go, but time ran out before they could score. The Heels then traveled to

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 ...

to face the Tigers, losing 59–38. It was the second most points given up by the Tar Heels in their 405 ACC games, trailing only the 63 given up in a game against

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 ...

in 2000. The next game was the

Homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States and Canada. United St ...

game for the Heels, and they beat

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

49–24. UNC racked up 506 total yards and caught four interceptions in the game. Next up for the Heels was the rivalry game with

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 ...

Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

, which the Heels lost 13–0. It was the fifth straight loss to the Wolfpack, the first shutout in the series since 1960. Giovani Bernard did break the 1,000 yard rushing mark for the season, but as a team the Heels were held to three total yards rushing. On a Thursday night in

Blacksburg, Virginia Blacksburg is an incorporated town in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 44,826 at the 2020 census. Blacksburg and the surrounding county is dominated economically and demographically by the presence of Virginia T ...

the Heels lost to

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

24–21. Dwight Jones passed the 1,000 yard receiving mark for the season, making the 2011 Tar Heels the first team to have a 1,000 yard receiver and rusher in the same season. UNC closed out the regular season with a home win over arch-rival

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

, winning 37–21. The Heels have won the last 20 of 21 games in the series and hold an all time advantage of 58–35–4. Dwight Jones's 79 receptions and Bryn Renner's 23 TD passes set single season records for the Tar Heels.

James Madison

On December 20, 2013, Withers accepted the position of head football coach at

. During a successful first campaign with the Dukes, Withers led the team back to the

FCS playoffs The NCAA Division I Football Championship is an annual post-season college football game, played since 2006, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). From 1978 to 2005, the game was ca ...

for the first time since

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and was named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson FCS Coach of the Year award.

Texas State

On January 6, 2016, Withers accepted the position of head football coach at

Texas State University Texas State University (TXST) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in San Marcos, Texas, United States, and another campus in Round Rock, Texas, Round Rock. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has ...

. In three seasons with the Bobcats Wither's amassed 7 wins and 28 losses. Withers was terminated from the position on November 18, 2018, because of the lack of success and wins for the program. He was replaced by West Virginia University offensive coordinator

Jake Spavital Jacob Stephen Spavital (born May 1, 1985) is an American college football coach who is the offensive coordinator for the Baylor Bears. He previously served as the offensive coordinator at Cal Golden Bears in 2023. Coaching career Early coachin ...

New York Giants

On February 26, 2019, it was reported that Withers was hired as the defensive backs coach of the

. He had agreed to become the defensive coordinator at FIU shortly before. He replaced Lou Anarumo, who left to be the

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

defensive coordinator.

Texas

Withers wasn't retained following the

' dismissal of

Pat Shurmur Patrick Carl Shurmur (born April 14, 1965) is an American football coach who serves as the offensive coordinator at the Colorado Buffaloes football team, University of Colorado. Prior to joining the staff at Colorado, he most recently served as ...

. He then joined

Tom Herman Thomas Herman III (born June 2, 1975) is an American college football coach who most recently served as the head coach for the Florida Atlantic Owls football, Florida Atlantic Owls. He was the head football coach for the Texas Longhorns footbal ...

's staff at

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

as a defensive analyst.

FIU

In January 2021, Withers was announced as 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 ...

at FIU, reuniting him with former

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

head coach,

Temple

In January 2022, Withers was named Chief of Staff to the Head Coach for Temple Owls football program by Head Coach

. Withers became interim head coach on November 17, 2024, after Temple fired Drayton. Temple hired K. C. Keeler as Drayton's permanent replacement on December 1.

Head coaching record

References

External links

James Madison profile

Texas State profile

Temple profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Withers, Everett 1963 births Living people American football defensive backs American football linebackers Appalachian State Mountaineers football players Austin Peay Governors football coaches FIU Panthers football coaches Florida Atlantic Owls football coaches James Madison Dukes football coaches Louisville Cardinals football coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers football coaches New Orleans Saints coaches New York Giants coaches North Carolina Tar Heels football coaches Southern Miss Golden Eagles football coaches Texas Longhorns football coaches Texas State Bobcats football coaches Tennessee Titans coaches Coaches of American football from North Carolina Players of American football from Charlotte, North Carolina African-American coaches of American football 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen