Larry Coyer (April 19, 1943 – February 10, 2023) was 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. He served 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 ...

for the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

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 2009 to 2011. Prior to the Colts, he was the assistant

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 ...

for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

and defensive coordinator for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

and

New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a Public university system, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution ...

Playing career and high school coaching

Coyer was an outstanding player at Barboursville High School in

Barboursville, West Virginia Barboursville is a village in Cabell County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 4,456 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area. History Barboursville was platted in 181 ...

during the late 1950s A 1964 graduate of

Marshall University Marshall University is a public university, public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States, chief justice of the Uni ...

, Coyer is a member of the Football Hall of Fame at Marshall for his achievements as a player. He began his coaching career at his alma mater in 1965 as secondary coach, a position he maintained through 1967. An additional coaching stint came at the acclaimed

Massillon Washington High School Washington High School, commonly referred to as Massillon High School or Massillon Washington High School, is a 9th to 12th grade secondary school within the Massillon City School District in the city of Massillon, Ohio. The school colors are ...

, where NFL Legend Paul Brown once coached.

Denver Broncos

In his 42nd year of coaching on either the collegiate or professional level, Coyer began his Broncos coaching career as the club's linebackers coach from 2000 to 2002 before he was promoted to defensive coordinator. Larry Coyer entered his seventh, and final, season on the Denver Broncos' coaching staff in 2006 and his fourth in the role of defensive coordinator. Coyer's defense consistently ranked among the NFL's most productive during his three seasons as the Broncos' defensive coordinator and helped the club advance to the playoffs each year. The Broncos placed in the league's top-7 in run defense in every year under Coyer and allowed an average of 93.3 rushing yards per game between 2003 and 2006 (ranking second in the NFL during that period). Denver also ranked among the league's best teams in overall defense under Coyer, posting consecutive top-4 NFL rankings in yards-per-game allowed from 2003 to 2004 and placing fourth in the league (289.5 ypg.) in that category for the period 2003–2006. In addition, the Broncos surrendered an average of 18.0 points per game between 2003 and 2006 to rank fifth in the NFL in scoring defense with Coyer at the helm. Coyer's defense was instrumental in the Broncos going 13–3 in 2005 and advancing to the AFC Championship Game. Denver, which, in 2005, sent cornerback Champ Bailey, safety John Lynch and linebacker Al Wilson to the Pro Bowl, ranked second in the NFL in run defense (85.2 ypg.) and posted the third-best such mark in franchise history. The Broncos allowed only 16.1 points per game to tie for third in the NFL and surrendered a total of 37 points in their final four games (9.3 ppg.) en route to capturing the AFC West title. Coyer began his Broncos coaching career as their linebackers coach from 2000 to 2002. In Coyer's first year instructing Denver's linebackers in 2000, John Mobley and fellow linebacker Bill Romanowski finished first and second on the team in tackles (133 and 121) while Wilson ranked fourth (104). In his first year as the Broncos' defensive coordinator in 2003, Denver's defense allowed an average of only 277.1 yards per game. The team ranked fourth in the NFL, and earned its first postseason berth since 2000. Coyer, who also instructed the team's linebackers, worked closely with Wilson during his Pro Bowl season that saw him lead the Broncos in tackles (128) for the second consecutive year. In 2004, Coyer's defense featured two Pro Bowl selections: Lynch and Bailey, who also earned the first All-Pro nomination of his career after joining the Broncos in an offseason trade. Coyer aided in the development of rookie linebacker D.J. Williams, who became only the second Broncos rookie and the first in 32 years to lead the team in tackles (114). Along the way, Williams was the only 2004 rookie to be named AFC Defensive Player of the Week (Wk. 16) and finished No. 3 in the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. On January 8, 2007, Coyer was released from the Denver Broncos after the 2006 season. His release was the result of a defensive meltdown in the second half of the season. On January 18, 2007, the Bucs hired him as their defensive line coach.

USFL coaching

Coyer's other professional coaching experience came in the United States Football League as linebackers coach with the

Michigan Panthers The Michigan Panthers were a professional American football team based in Metro Detroit. The Panthers competed in the United States Football League (USFL) as a member of the Western Conference and Central Division. The team played its home gam ...

(1983–84) and defensive coordinator with the

Memphis Showboats The Memphis Showboats were an American football franchise in the United States Football League. They entered the league in its expansion in 1984 and made the 1985 playoffs, losing in the semifinal round to the Oakland Invaders. Perhaps the ...

(1985–86). Coyer helped Michigan capture the inaugural USFL championship in 1983 with a win against Philadelphia in a game played at Mile High Stadium in Denver.

NCAA coaching

Coyer was the defensive coordinator in 1993 at East Carolina, where under his guidance the Pirates improved in virtually every defensive category. He also served as defensive backs coach at

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

(1991–92), assistant head coach/defensive backs coach at

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

(1990) and linebackers coach at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

(1987–89). Coyer was also defensive coordinator at Memphis State (1986) Iowa State (1979–82),

Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

(1978) and

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

(1974–77) after serving as defensive backs coach at

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

(1968–73). Before his stint at Pittsburgh, Coyer was defensive coordinator at Iowa State University for two seasons (1995–96). That post was preceded by a one-year assignment as defensive line coach for the New York Jets in 1994. While at Pitt (1997–99) as its defensive coordinator, Coyer directed a defensive unit that showed significant improvement each season, culminating in a 1999 showing that included top-5 rankings in the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

in all major defensive statistical categories. Two of his standouts, safety Ramon Walker and defensive lineman Demond Gibson, earned All-Big East Conference honors that season. In 1998, the Panthers ranked third in the Big East in total defense, and over the course of the 1997–98 seasons, the unit amassed 62 sacks, the highest two-season total at Pittsburgh since 1990–91. In February 2014, Coyer was hired as the defensive coordinator for

Personal life and death

Coyer died on February 10, 2023, at the age of 79.

References