Kane Wommack (born April 19, 1987) is an American

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 ...

coach and former player. He is 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

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

, positions he has held since 2024. He previously served as the

and linebackers coach at

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

from 2018 to 2020 and as the head coach of South Alabama from 2021 to 2023.

Playing career

Wommack played fullback at

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

from 2005 to 2006, and helped the Razorbacks capture the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) West Division title in 2006. He transferred to

Southern Miss 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 ...

, and helped the Golden Eagles to three straight

bowl game In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...

appearances.

Coaching career

UT Martin

Kane Wommack started his college coaching career as the

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

s coach for the

UT Martin Skyhawks The UT Martin Skyhawks (also known as Tennessee–Martin Skyhawks) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Tennessee at Martin (UTM) in Martin, Tennessee, United States. The Skyhawks athletic program is a member of ...

team in 2010.

Jacksonville State

In 2011, Wommack served as a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research resp ...

for

Jack Crowe Jack Crowe (born May 2, 1947) is an American former college football coach. He played quarterback at West End High School in Birmingham, Alabama. He was most recently the head coach at Jacksonville State University in Alabama, a position he held ...

at Jacksonville State. He coached the

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

Ole Miss

The following year, Wommack joined

Hugh Freeze Danny Hugh Freeze Jr. (born September 27, 1969) is an American college football coach. Since 2023, he has served as the head coach for Auburn University. A successful high school football coach at Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis, Tenne ...

's new staff at

Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

as a graduate assistant. He joined his father Dave Wommack's defensive staff. Dave had just been hired as the defensive coordinator. Here, Kane coached the “Husky” position, one of 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 in his father's 4-2-5 defensive scheme. While at Ole Miss, he also worked with

Tom Allen Thomas Allen may refer to: Clergy * Thomas Allen (nonconformist) (1608–1673), Anglican/nonconformist priest in England and New England *Thomas Allen (dean of Chester) (died 1732) *Thomas Allen (scholar) (1681–1755), Anglican priest in England ...

for the first time. Allen was hired as the

special teams coordinator A special teams coordinator (STC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's special teams unit. Generally, the special teams coordinator, offensive coordinator, and defensive coordinator represent the second level of a t ...

and

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.

Eastern Illinois

In 2014, Wommack was named the

at Eastern Illinois. In his first year at Eastern Illinois, Wommack's defense ranked second in the

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with ...

(OVC) in scoring and fourth in takeaways. In addition, four defensive players earned all-OVC honors that fall. In his second season, Wommack helped the Panthers to a first-round appearance in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS playoffs, and a top-25 national ranking in the final polls. Under his direction, Eastern Illinois defensive lineman Dino Fanti was named the 2015 Ohio Valley Conference co-Defensive Player of the year, as well as the College Football Performance Awards FCS Defensive Tackle of the Year and a first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association. Eastern Illinois defensive back Jourdan Wickliffe earned first-team all-OVC honors in consecutive seasons under Wommack's direction. During the 2015 campaign the Panther defense ranked second nationally in interceptions (19), third in takeaways (31), fourth in pass efficiency defense (103.0), eighth in red zone defense (67.3%) and 10th in tackles for loss (98). Eastern Illinois led the OVC in pass efficiency defense (91.8) and red zone defense (53.3%) that year, while ranking second in the league in scoring defense (19.8 ppg), pass defense (194.8 ypg), third-down defense (29.7%), first-down defense (17.2%) and sacks (19).

South Alabama

Wommack joined the staff at South Alabama prior to the 2016 season, to serve as the defensive coordinator and

s coach. During Wommack's two seasons in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

, South Alabama was the 13th-most improved scoring defense (-10.8) and rushing defense (-69.2) in the nation. He engineered one of the top turnarounds in the country. The unit was the fifth-most improved nationally in scoring defense (-10.3), and ranked in the top 10 nationally in passing defense. The Jaguars finished in the top five in the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...

in pass defense, pass efficiency defense, tackles for loss and third-down conversion percentage against. USA was one of two programs with multiple first team all-conference honorees and both of his starting linebackers received postseason accolades. Safety Jeremy Reaves was recognized as the 2017 Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year and twice as a first team all-league honoree. The 2017 defense surrendered 22 points or fewer in regulation seven times in eight conference games.

Indiana

Wommack rejoined

in 2018, when Allen hired him to be the teams

s coach as the tenth assistant coach. On December 27, 2018, Allen gave up the defensive coordinator duties and announced that Wommack would move forward as running the defense. Wommack additionally collaborated with future Alabama coach

Kalen DeBoer Kalen Douglas DeBoer (born October 24, 1974) is an American college football coach. He is the head football coach for the University of Alabama, a position he has held since 2024. He also served as the head coach at the Sioux Falls Cougars footba ...

, who served as Indiana’s offensive coordinator at the time.

South Alabama (second stint)

On December 12, 2020, Wommack was named the third head coach at the

University of South Alabama The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public research university in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May 1963 and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alaba ...

Alabama

On January 16, 2024, Wommack resigned from South Alabama to join

's staff at the

Personal life

Wommack is the son of former college coach Dave Wommack. He was born in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

, but went to high school in

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, Arkansas, Washington County, and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. The city ...

. He then earned his bachelor's degree in political science at 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 ...

. Wommack and his wife, Melissa, have three sons, Asher, Tatum, and Jones.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Alabama profile

South Alabama profile

Indiana profile

Southern Miss profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wommack, Kane 1987 births Living people American football fullbacks American football tight ends Alabama Crimson Tide football coaches Arkansas Razorbacks football players Eastern Illinois Panthers football coaches Indiana Hoosiers football coaches Jacksonville State Gamecocks football coaches Ole Miss Rebels football coaches South Alabama Jaguars football coaches Southern Miss Golden Eagles football players UT Martin Skyhawks football coaches Players of American football from Fayetteville, Arkansas Sportspeople from Springfield, Missouri Coaches of American football from Arkansas