Mark DeLeone (born June 30, 1987) 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 most recently was the inside linebackers coach 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 previously the inside linebackers coach of the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

in 2018, 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 ...

in 2019 and 2020, and 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 ...

in 2021.

Coaching career

Kansas City Chiefs

On April 1, 2016, DeLeone was promoted to the

assistant linebackers coach. The Chiefs went 12–4 in 2016 and clinched the AFC West title for the first time since 2010 and made the playoffs for the second year in a row for the first time since 1995. They would lose in the Divisional Round against 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 ...

16–18. During the season they would defeat the NFC Champions, the

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 ...

29-28. Linebackers Justin Houston,

Derrick Johnson Derrick O'Hara Johnson (born November 22, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns, twice earning consensus All-Amer ...

, and

Tamba Hali Tamba Boimah Hali (born 3 November 1983) is a Liberian former professional player of American football who was a defensive end and linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions, ear ...

would make the NFL's Top 100, ranked 26th, 80th, and 84th respectively. The Chiefs went 10–6 in 2017 and won back-to-back AFC West titles for the first time in franchise history and made the playoffs for the third year in a row for the first time since 1994. They would lose to 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 the Wild Card round 21-22. They would defeat both the AFC champion

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 ...

and the NFC champion

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

during the season. Under his coaching,

Justin Houston Justin Donovan Houston (born January 21, 1989) is an American professional football linebacker. He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, earning first-team All-American honors in 2010. Houston was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs i ...

would rank 7th in tackles for loss. Justin Houston would make the NFL's Top 100 ranked 76th. In the 2017 offseason, Derrick Johnson left in free agency & Tamba Hali was released. On January 29, 2018, DeLeone was promoted to the

inside linebackers coach. The Chiefs went 12-4 and won their third straight AFC West title in franchise history and made the playoffs for the fourth year in a row for the first time since 1993. They would go on to defeat 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 ...

in the Divisional Round 31-13 and then lose to the

in the AFC Championship game 31–37. During the season they defeated two playoff teams; the AFC North champion

and the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

. Under his coaching, Justin Houston ranked 5th in forced fumbles and linebacker

Reggie Ragland Reggie Keith Ragland Jr. (born September 23, 1993) is an American former professional football linebacker. He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, winning two national championships. He was then selected by the Buffalo Bills in ...

recorded the 8th longest interception return. At the end of the season, defensive coordinator Bob Sutton was fired and DeLeone left to join his former offensive coordinator

Matt Nagy Matthew Nagy ( or ; born April 24, 1978) is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He was the head coach of the Chicago ...

Chicago Bears

On January 29, 2019, the Chicago Bears named DeLeone the inside linebackers coach. The Bears went 8-8 in 2019 and missed the playoffs.

Detroit Lions

On January 28, 2021, the

hired DeLeone as their inside linebacker coach. On February 16, 2022, the Lions parted ways with DeLeone after one season.

Kansas Jayhawks

In the spring of 2022, DeLeone was hired as a defensive analyst at

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

Baltimore Ravens

On January 28, 2025, it was announced that DeLeone would not return to the

, having spent one season with the team serving as their inside linebackers coach.

Personal life

Mark graduated from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

, earning a bachelor's degree in liberal arts & sciences. He is the son of the late

George DeLeone George DeLeone (May 9, 1948 – March 1, 2022) was an American football coach. Prior to rejoining Temple's staff, where he was once the offensive coordinator from 2006 through 2007, DeLeone was an offensive line coach for the Cleveland Browns. ...

, who was an assistant coach in college football and the NFL for nearly 50 years.

References

External links

Chicago Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:DeLeone, Mark 1987 births Living people Florida Gators football coaches Temple Owls football coaches Iowa Hawkeyes football coaches New Hampshire Wildcats football coaches New York Jets coaches Kansas City Chiefs coaches Chicago Bears coaches Sportspeople from Syracuse, New York Coaches of American football from New York (state)