Shawn Watson (born September 21, 1959) 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. He is currently the head coach at

Wofford College Wofford College is a private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1854, it is one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the American Civil War that still ope ...

, a position he has held since October 6, 2022 after the resignation of

Josh Conklin Josh Conklin (born June 19, 1979) is an American college football coach. He served as head football coach of Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina from 2018 until midway through the 2022 season. Conklin served as the defensive coordinato ...

. Watson served as the head football coach at

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. Chartered in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. SIU enrolls students from all 50 sta ...

from 1994 to 1996, compiling a record of 11–22. He was the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

at the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University o ...

(2000–2005), the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...

(2007–2010), the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

(2011–2013), and the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

(2017–2018).

Early life

Watson was born in

Carbondale, Illinois Carbondale is a city in Jackson County, Illinois, United States, within the Southern Illinois region informally known as "Little Egypt". As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 25,083, making it the most po ...

on September 21, 1959, and graduated from Carterville High School in

Carterville, Illinois Carterville is a city in Williamson County, Illinois, United States. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 5,848. The city is part of the Carbondale-Marion-Herrin combined statistical area and has grown considerably as a residential co ...

Coaching career

Watson began his

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coaching Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a ''coach'', supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a ''coa ...

career 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 ...

in 1982 at Southern Illinois; the same school where he had completed his playing career. His first full-time position was at the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

, where he started as a

for two years beginning in 1983 before promotions to offensive tackles coach, tight ends coach, and

wide receivers 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 ...

by 1986. Illinois participated in two bowl games during Watson's time there, including the

1984 Rose Bowl The 1984 Rose Bowl game, played on Monday, January 2, was the 70th edition. The unranked UCLA Bruins upset the #4 Illinois Fighting Illini by a score of 45–9. Rick Neuheisel, UCLA quarterback, was named the Player of the Game.Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

across seven years, starting as wide receivers coach, and moving through positions as tight ends coach, wide receivers coach and completing his career at Miami in 1993 as quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator. In 1994, Watson obtained his first appointment as a head coach when he was hired to take control of the program where he started his playing and coaching careers; Southern Illinois. SIU had gone 15–29 in the four years prior to Watson's arrival, and his first year was a rough start to his head coaching career as SIU finished 1–10. SIU finished the next two seasons with repeat 5–6 records before Watson moved on, finishing with an overall head coaching record to date of 11–22. During Watson's three-year tenure at SIU he produced 20 all-conference players and an NFL-drafted tight end in

Damon Jones Damon Darron Jones (born August 25, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who played most of his career for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A combo guard, he played college basketball ...

. In 1997, Watson was hired by head coach

Gary Barnett Gary Lee Barnett (born May 23, 1946) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Fort Lewis College (1982–1983), Northwestern University (1992–1998), and the University of Colorado at Boulder (1999–2005) ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

as quarterbacks coach. When Barnett was later hired as head coach by the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

in 1999, Watson also followed and continued for a year as quarterbacks coach. In 2000, Watson was promoted to

Offensive Coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

at Colorado while maintaining his role with the quarterbacks, and remained in that role until Barnett's firing at the conclusion of the 2005 season. In 2006, head coach Bill Callahan hired Watson to the position of tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

, and he was subsequently promoted the following year to the same position he had held at Colorado, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. When Callahan was fired at the conclusion of the 2007 season, Watson was one of two members of Callahan's staff that were retained under new Nebraska head coach,

Bo Pelini Mark Anthony "Bo" Pelini (born December 13, 1967) is a former American football coach and former player. He was most recently the defensive coordinator for the LSU Tigers football, Louisiana State University Tigers football team. He is the youn ...

. Watson was not retained in a 2011 realignment of assistant coaches at Nebraska, and was subsequently hired as the quarterbacks coach at the

. After a lackluster offensive performance against

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

, offensive coordinator Mike Sanford did not travel with the Cardinals for their next game, against

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. Watson was named the play-caller for that game. CBSSports.com's Brett McMurphy reported that Sanford had been fired and replaced by Watson. However, ''

The Courier-Journal The ''Courier Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), and called ''The Courier-Journal'' between November 8, 1868, and October 29, 2017, is a daily newspaper published in ...

s Rick Bozich reported that Sanford was still with the team, but may be demoted to a position coach. Bozich later confirmed that Sanford was no longer offensive coordinator. The following Monday, head coach Charlie Strong announced that Watson would serve as offensive coordinator for the remainder of the season. Perhaps Watson's trademark game came in the

2013 Sugar Bowl The 2013 Allstate Sugar Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game on Wednesday, January 2, 2013, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The game featured the Florida Gators of the SEC and the Louisville Cardinals of the ...

, where Louisville defeated No. 4 Florida. Louisville's offense, led by quarterback

Teddy Bridgewater Theodore Edmond Bridgewater Jr. (born November 10, 1992) is an American professional football quarterback. He played college football for the Louisville Cardinals, winning the 2013 Sugar Bowl, and was selected as the final first round pick of ...

, scored over 30 points and racked up over 330 yards of offense on a top-five Florida defense. On December 12, 2015, the University of Texas announced it would not be extending Watson's contract, thereby ending his tenure as the school's offensive coordinator and quarterback's coach. Watson was hired as offensive quality control coach at Indiana in 2016, and then was promoted to quarterback coach after the resignation of Kevin Wilson. On February 2, 2017, Watson was hired as offensive coordinator at the

. On January 4, 2019, Watson was let go as offensive coordinator. On February 8, 2019, Georgia hired Watson as their offensive quality control coach. On March 19, 2020,

Mark Farley Mark Farley (born April 5, 1963) is a former American football coach. He was the head coach at the University of Northern Iowa, a position he held from 2001 until his retirement in 2024. Farley started at inside linebacker at Northern Iowa from 1 ...

, head football coach at the

University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. UNI offers more than 90 majors across five colleges. The fall 2024 total enrollment was 9,283 students. The university was initially founded in 1 ...

, tabbed coaching Watson as a new offensive assistant for the Panthers, joining former Nebraska quarterback Joe Ganz on Northern Iowa's coaching staff.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Wofford profile

Northern Iowa profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Shawn 1959 births Living people American football safeties Colorado Buffaloes football coaches Illinois Fighting Illini football coaches Illinois Fighting Illini football players Indiana Hoosiers football coaches Louisville Cardinals football coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers football coaches Northern Iowa Panthers football coaches Northwestern Wildcats football coaches Miami RedHawks football coaches Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches Southern Illinois Salukis football coaches Southern Illinois Salukis football players Texas Longhorns football coaches Wofford Terriers football coaches Sportspeople from Carbondale, Illinois People from Carterville, Illinois Coaches of American football from Illinois Players of American football from Williamson County, Illinois