Kacy Rodgers (born June 24, 1969) 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 currently serves as the run game coordinator and

defensive line coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, associate and assistant coach, and the Offensive coordinator, offensive a ...

for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

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 played

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 ...

for the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

and was a part of the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

practice squad in the NFL in 1992. Since then, Rodgers has served as an assistant coach at the college and professional levels.

Early years

Rodgers played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

for and graduated from Humboldt High School in

Humboldt, Tennessee Humboldt is a city in Gibson and Madison counties, Tennessee. The population was 8,452 at the 2010 census, a decline of 1,015 from 2000. It is the principal city of and is included in the Humboldt, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area, whic ...

. He and wife, Marcella Cruze, have one son, Kacy II, a former professional football player for 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 ...

and current Real Estate mogul.

College career

Rodgers then attended the

, where he was a four-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

for the

Tennessee Volunteers football The Tennessee Volunteers football program (variously called "Vols," "UT" and "Big Orange") represents the University of Tennessee (UT). The Vols have played football for 132 seasons, starting in 1891; their combined record of 870–415–53 ( ...

team from 1988 to 1991. He was an honorable mention

All-SEC The All-SEC football team is an annual Southeastern Conference (SEC) honor bestowed on the best players in the conference following every college football season. Seasons Following is a list of all-conference teams in the history of the SEC: * ...

selection. During his time as a

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 ...

and

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

, he won two SEC championships and played in the

1990 Cotton Bowl Classic The 1990 Cotton Bowl Classic featured the Tennessee Volunteers and the Arkansas Razorbacks. Background The Razorbacks won their 2nd consecutive Southwest Conference championship, attended their 6th consecutive bowl appearance and second consecut ...

1991 Sugar Bowl The 1991 Sugar Bowl was the 57th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Tuesday, January 1. Part of the 1990–91 bowl game season, it matched the unranked Virginia Cavali ...

and the

1992 Fiesta Bowl The 1992 Fiesta Bowl, was a post-season college football bowl game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Tennessee Volunteers, played January 1, 1992, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona Tempe ( ; ''Oidbaḍ'' in O'odham language, ...

Professional playing career

Rodgers signed with the

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 1992. He played for the Shreveport Pirates of the Canadian Football League in 1994.

Coaching career

University of Tennessee at Martin

Rodgers began his coaching career in 1994 as defensive line coach for the University of Tennessee at Martin. He held the title for three seasons before adding the title of assistant head coach in 1997.

Northeast Louisiana

After his time at Tennessee-Martin, Rodgers served one season as defensive line coach for the University of Louisiana at Monroe#Athletics, Northeast Louisiana University in 1998.

Middle Tennessee State

In 1999, Rodgers became defensive line coach at Middle Tennessee State University#Athletics, Middle Tennessee State University. He held the title for three seasons and was also the assistant head coach for the final two. In 2001, the Blue Raiders posted an 8–3 record and were co-champions of the Sun Belt Conference. Also that season, the team tied for first in the conference with 27 Quarterback sack, sacks.

Arkansas

Rodgers then served one season as defensive line coach for the Arkansas Razorbacks football, University of Arkansas in 2002. The Razorbacks defense ranked second in the SEC and 18th in the nation, going 9–5 and earning an SEC Championship Game, SEC Championship berth.

Dallas Cowboys

In 2003, Arkansas alum and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones hired Rodgers as the team's defensive tackles coach. He held the title for two seasons before serving the next three as defensive line coach. Defensive tackle La'Roi Glover earned three Pro Bowl selections under Rodgers' tutelage from 2003 to 2005. The Cowboys' defense also ranked in the top 10 in the NFL during four of Rodgers' five seasons with the team. During his final season in 2007, they ranked No. 6 in the NFL and allowed just 94.6 rushing yards per game.

Miami Dolphins

In 2008, Rodgers joined the Miami Dolphins as defensive line coach under first-year head coach Tony Sparano, replacing Travis Jones (American football coach), Travis Jones and Diron Reynolds from 2007. He would churn out three pro bowlers in Randy Starks DT, Paul Soliai DT and Cameron Wake DE while with the Dolphins. Rodgers had previously worked with Sparano in Dallas the previous five seasons while also serving under former Dolphins Vice President Bill Parcells during his tenure as Cowboys head coach from 2003 to 2006.

New York Jets

Rodgers was named the

' defensive coordinator on January 23, 2015.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

In 2019, Rodgers was named defensive line coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a position he held for three seasons. He was part of the coaching staff when the Buccaneers won Super Bowl LV. After the 2021 season, following Bruce Arians’ resignation and the promotion of defensive coordinator Todd Bowles to head coach, Rodgers was named run game coordinator for the Buccaneers. As Bowles retained his defensive play calling and coaching duties, he did not hire an official defensive coordinator, leaving Rodgers as one of two top defensive assistant coaches for Tampa Bay, along with pass game coordinator Larry Foote.

Detroit Lions

On January 23, 2025, Rodgers was hired to serve as the defensive line coach for the

References

External links

Tampa Bay Buccaneers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodgers, Kacy 1969 births Living people American football defensive ends American football linebackers Players of Canadian football from Tennessee Arkansas Razorbacks football coaches Canadian football linebackers Dallas Cowboys coaches Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football coaches Miami Dolphins coaches Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football coaches New York Jets coaches People from Humboldt, Tennessee Pittsburgh Steelers players Shreveport Pirates players UT Martin Skyhawks football coaches Tennessee Volunteers football players NFL defensive coordinators Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches Coaches of American football from Tennessee