Mark Snyder (born December 30, 1964) 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. He previously was the defensive line and linebackers coach for the

Orlando Guardians The Orlando Guardians were a professional American football team based in Orlando, Florida. The Guardians competed in the XFL (2020), XFL. The team was founded by Vince McMahon's Alpha Entertainment as the New York Guardians and were owned-and-o ...

of the XFL linebackers coach for the

Houston Gamblers The Houston Gamblers were an American football team that competed in the United States Football League in 1984 and 1985. The Gamblers were coached by veteran NFL head coach Jack Pardee in both their seasons. They were noteworthy for introducin ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL). Snyder served as the head football coach at

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 ...

from 2005 to 2009 after a four-year tenure as

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 ...

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, 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 ...

Playing career

The

South Point, Ohio South Point is a village in Lawrence County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 3,836 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area. It is the southern-most incorporated municipality in th ...

, native is a 1988 graduate of Marshall. Snyder played in 1987 for the football squad, leading the Southern Conference with 10 interceptions and was second on the team with 124 tackles his senior year at Marshall and helped lead the Herd to a landmark come from behind win at

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

and a berth in Marshall's first-ever national championship game. He captured honorable mention All-America honors and first-team All-Southern Conference honors that season as the Thundering Herd posted a 10-5 overall record and finished as national runners-up to Northeast Louisiana (43-42) in the 1987 Division I-AA National Championship game. Snyder's 10 interceptions in 1987 still stands as the Marshall and Southern Conference single-season record.

Coaching career

Early coaching

After graduating from Marshall, the following fall he began his coaching career as a student assistant coach for the Herd. He moved on to the

UCF Knights The UCF Knights are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Central Florida in unincorporated Orange County, Florida near Orlando, Florida, Orlando. The Knights participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NC ...

the following year and spent two seasons there, the first as a graduate assistant and the second coaching

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. In 1991, Snyder joined

Jim Tressel James Patrick Tressel (born December 5, 1952) is an American politician and retired college football coach who has served as the 67th lieutenant governor of Ohio since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, Tressel previously was the president ...

Youngstown State University Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio. The university is composed of six undergrad ...

as the outside linebacker coach. Snyder was given special teams and inside linebacker responsibilities in 1994, and then promoted to defensive coordinator and secondary coach in 1996. During his tenure at Youngstown State, the Penguins won three NCAA Division I-AA national championships and played in four consecutive national championship games, facing Marshall in three of those contests (1991, 1992, and 1993). Following the 1996 season, Snyder went on to spend four years as the defensive ends coach under

Glen Mason Glen Orin Mason (born April 9, 1950) is an American former college football player and coach. Mason served as the head football coach at Kent State University from 1986 to 1987, the University of Kansas from 1988 to 1996, and the University of M ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. While coaching the Golden Gophers, Minnesota's defense twice set school records for single-season sacks and averaged 40.7 sacks during a three-year span. While at Minnesota, Snyder's best players were Lamanzer Williams, who led the nation in sacks in 1997, and Karon Riley, the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

Defensive Player of the Year in 2000.

Ohio State

Snyder reunited with Tressel at

and was coming off of his first season as the Buckeyes' defensive coordinator. In Snyder's four years at Ohio State, the Buckeyes posted a 40–11 overall record and tallied a 3–1 record in bowl games, including victories in the 2003 and 2004

Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area since 1971. From its beginning until 2006, the game was hosted at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has be ...

s. Snyder helped develop a number of outstanding players at Ohio State, including All-Americans Matt Wilhelm, Cie Grant, and A. J. Hawk. Both Wilhelm and Grant played key roles in Ohio State's 2002 national championship before going on to become

NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

picks. Hawk led OSU with 141 tackles en route to becoming the No. 5 overall pick by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

in the

2006 NFL draft The 2006 NFL draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offe ...

Return to Marshall

Marshall University's football program welcomed home one of its own when Mark Snyder was introduced as Marshall's 28th head football coach on April 14, 2005. "I am pleased that Mark decided to return to his alma mater and lead our football program into a new era," Marshall Director of Athletics

Bob Marcum Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname) *Bob (dog), a dog that received the Dickin Medal for bravery in World War II *Bob the ...

said at Snyder's hiring. "He brings a great deal of experience, enthusiasm, and a proven record of success at the highest levels of college football to Marshall." Snyder was the head coach at Marshall for five seasons (2005–09) and helped lead the Thundering Herd transition from the Mid-American Conference to Conference USA. In Snyder's final year in 2009, Marshall went 6-6 during the regular-season and earned a berth in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. His program produced 40 all-conference selections, including 2006 Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year Albert McClellan, who had 18.5 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks his sophomore season. Snyder produced a 22-37 overall record at Marshall (17-23 Conference USA). Under Snyder, running back

Ahmad Bradshaw Ahmad Bradshaw (born March 19, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Marshall Thundering Herd. Bradshaw was selected in the seven ...

was a two-time All-C-USA pick and ran for 19 touchdowns and 1,523 yards as a junior in 2006 to earn first-team all-league honors. Bradshaw was selected in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft (No. 250 overall) by the New York Giants and won two Super Bowls with the Giants (XLII, XLVI); he is one of just eight running backs in NFL history to be the leading rusher in two Super Bowls. McClellan, who had to sit out the 2007 season due to a knee injury, returned in 2008 to earn first-team All-C-USA honors for the second time in his career. He signed with the Baltimore Ravens as a rookie free agent in 2009 and is currently playing his fourth season in the NFL, all in Baltimore.

South Florida

On January 18, 2010, Snyder was named the defensive coordinator at South Florida. Snyder spent two seasons (2010–11) as the defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at South Florida. Both of his defenses in Tampa ranked in the FBS Top 25 in rushing defense (22nd in 2010 at 125.6 ypg. and 15th in 2011 at 107.3 ypg.). During USF's 2010 season that ended with an 8-5 record and a win over Clemson in the Meineke Car Care Bowl, the Bulls ranked 17th in total defense (317.9 ypg.) and 22nd in scoring defense (20.0 ppg.). Snyder helped mentor first-team All-BIG EAST defensive tackle Terrell McClain, who was selected in the third round of the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, NFL draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Rad ...

(No. 65 overall) by the Carolina Panthers. The Bulls were also one of the top defensive teams during the 2011 season in tackles for loss (No. 2 in FBS with 99; 8.25 pg.) and sacks (No. 4 with 39; 3.25 pg.).

Texas A&M

On January 10, 2012, Snyder was hired by first-year head coach

Kevin Sumlin Kevin Warren Sumlin (born August 3, 1964) is an American football coach who is the associate head coach, co-offensive coordinator, and tight ends coach for the University of Maryland. Sumlin served as the head football coach at the University of ...

as the defensive coordinator at

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

. During Snyder's stint as defensive coordinator at Texas A&M, two of his defensive linemen earned All-SEC honors, including consensus first-team All-American Damontre Moore in 2012. A third-round NFL Draft pick by the New York Giants (No. 81 overall) in 2013, Moore led the Aggies his junior season with 85 tackles, including 21 for losses and 12.5 sacks, to land on the All-SEC First Team. In 2014, true freshman

Myles Garrett Myles Lorenz Garrett (born December 29, 1995) is an American professional football defensive end for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies, receiving unanimous All-American ...

set a Texas A&M and SEC-freshman record with 11.5 sacks and was named a consensus first-team Freshman All-American as well as second-team All-SEC. During Texas A&M's 11-2 campaign in 2012 that ended with a win in the Cotton Bowl Classic over Oklahoma, Snyder's defense ranked 26th in the NCAA FBS in scoring defense, allowing 21.8 points per game.

Michigan State

On January 9, 2015, Snyder was hired by

Mark Dantonio Mark Justin Dantonio (born March 9, 1956) is an American college football coach and former player. His most recent head coaching position was at Michigan State University, a position he had held from 2007 to 2019. He led the Michigan State Spar ...

as the linebackers coach and special teams coordinator at

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

In Snyder's second season as linebackers coach, Riley Bullough was named first team all big ten linebacker helping Ohio State capture the Big Ten title. Snyder also helped lead The Ohio State Buckeyes to an inaugural playoff berth for the FBS National Championship.

Florida State

On January 11, 2018, Snyder joined

Willie Taggart Willie Author Taggart (born August 27, 1976) is an American football coach who is the running backs coach for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He has held the head coach position at five NCAA Division I Football Bowl ...

as the defensive ends coach at

Florida State 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 ...

. Snyder coached Brian Burns who was first team All ACC and eventual first round pick (#16) of the Carolina Panthers in his only season coaching the defensive ends before switching to special teams coordinator and linebackers coach for the 2019 season.

Houston Gamblers

In 2022 he was hired as a LBs coach for the Houston Gamblers of the USFL where Snyder coached the eventual Defensive Most Valuable Player OLB Chris Odum, and league leader in tackles and first team all league ILB Donald Payne.

Orlando Guardians

Snyder was officially hired by the

on September 13, 2022

Personal life

Snyder and his wife. Beth, who is a native of

Ironton, Ohio Ironton is a city in Lawrence County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 10,571 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located in southern Ohio, southernmost Ohio along the Ohio River, it is northwest of Huntingt ...

and a graduate of the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

, have three daughters: Chelsea, Lindsay, and Shaylee.

Head coaching record

*Resigned from Marshall before the Pizza Bowl

References

External links

Florida State profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snyder, Mark 1964 births Living people American football safeties Florida State Seminoles football coaches Marshall Thundering Herd football coaches Marshall Thundering Herd football players Michigan State Spartans football coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers football coaches Ohio State Buckeyes football coaches Orlando Guardians coaches South Florida Bulls football coaches Texas A&M Aggies football coaches UCF Knights football coaches Youngstown State Penguins football coaches Players of American football from Huntington, West Virginia People from Lawrence County, Ohio Coaches of American football from Ohio Players of American football from Ohio Houston Gamblers (2022) coaches