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Tracy Lee Claeys (born December 25, 1968) is a former
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. Claeys served as the head football coach at
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
from midway into the 2015 season through the end of the 2016 season. He was an assistant coach under
Jerry Kill Jerry R. Kill (born August 24, 1961) is an American college football coach who currently serves as a consultant at Vanderbilt. He was the head coach at New Mexico State University from 2022 to 2023. He played college football at Southwestern Co ...
for 21 years at
Saginaw Valley State University Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) is a public university in University Center, Michigan, United States, in Saginaw County. It was founded in 1963 as Saginaw Valley College. It is located on in Saginaw County's Kochville Township, appr ...
,
Emporia State University Emporia State University (Emporia State or ESU) is a public university in Emporia, Kansas, United States. Established in March 1863 as the Kansas State Normal School, Emporia State is the third-oldest public university in the state of Kansas. E ...
,
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 ...
,
Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It was founded as "Northern Illinois State Normal School" in 1895 by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld, initially to provide the state with c ...
, and Minnesota—the last 16 as his
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 ...
. Claeys was the defensive coordinator at
Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...
from 2018 to 2019 and the linebackers coach at
Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...
in 2020. He announced his retirement in January 2021.


Early life, education, and high school coaching

Claeys was born and raised in
Clay Center, Kansas Clay Center is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Kansas, Clay County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 4,199. History Clay Center was first settled in 1862. It ...
, where he began playing football in junior high school at Clay Center Community High School. Claeys got his start in coaching at the
University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...
and served as a student trainer, and later as an unpaid assistant coach for head coach
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 ...
. After three years at Kansas, he transferred to
Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...
and took a job as an assistant at his old high school, earning a salary of $1. After graduating with a degree in Mathematics Education in 1994 from Kansas State, he was hired at Santa Fe Trail High School as a math teacher and co-defensive coordinator of the football team.


College coaching career

In 1995, Claeys was hired as the defensive line coach at Saginaw Valley State under head coach
Jerry Kill Jerry R. Kill (born August 24, 1961) is an American college football coach who currently serves as a consultant at Vanderbilt. He was the head coach at New Mexico State University from 2022 to 2023. He played college football at Southwestern Co ...
. When Kill took the head coaching job at Emporia State in 1999, Claeys followed and was promoted to defensive coordinator. He continued to serve as defensive coordinator at Kill's future head coaching stops at
Southern Illinois Southern Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois comprising the southern third of the state, principally south of Interstate 70. Part of downstate Illinois, it is bordered by the two List of U.S. rivers by discharge, most voluminous ri ...
,
Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois, with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by ...
, and
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 ...
. Southern Illinois led the nation in defensive scoring in
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
, while allowing only 13.2 points per game, giving up only 101.7 rushing yards per game, and snagging 17 interceptions. In 2007, they reached the FCS national semifinal; their defense ranked as the 10th-best FCS scoring defense in the country, and the second-best scoring defense at SIU since 1983. They intercepted 21 passes, which ranked fourth in the nation. In his first season at
Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois, with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by ...
, Claeys and the defensive staff coached the Huskies into leading the MAC in pass defense, scoring defense, and total defense. They also finished in the top 20 nationally in those three categories: fifth in pass defense, 14th in scoring defense, and 17th in total defense. Claeys' defense topped the MAC and ranked 30th in the country in total defense the following year, and were also among the top 30 FBS teams in scoring defense that season. In 2010, Claeys led a Northern Illinois defensive unit that was ranked No. 14 in the nation and No. 1 in the MAC in scoring defense, allowing an average of just 19 points per game. The Huskies were also 32nd in the nation in pass efficiency defense, 27th in total defense, and 27th in rushing defense. Claeys joined the
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 ...
staff on December 10, 2010, when Kill hired him as defensive coordinator. He was nominated for the Frank Broyles Award (top college assistant coach) in 2013 and 2014 and was promoted to Associate Head Coach prior to the 2014 season. He transformed the Gopher defense into one of the best in the Big Ten.
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 ...
allowed 380 points in 2011 and 321 points in 2012. By comparison, in 2013, the Gopher defense allowed only 289 points, which marked the first time that Minnesota allowed fewer than 300 points in a full season since 2004. He also coached four First Team All-Big Ten defensive selections— Briean Boddy-Calhoun (2014),
Damien Wilson Damien Wilson (born May 28, 1993) is an American professional football linebacker. He played college football at Minnesota, and was selected by the Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL draft. He has also played for the Kansas City Chiefs ...
(2014), Ra'Shede Hageman (2013), and Brock Vereen (2013)—at Minnesota in five years. In contrast, Minnesota had five First Team All-Big Ten defensive selections from 2000 to 2010.


Head coach at Minnesota

Due to
Jerry Kill Jerry R. Kill (born August 24, 1961) is an American college football coach who currently serves as a consultant at Vanderbilt. He was the head coach at New Mexico State University from 2022 to 2023. He played college football at Southwestern Co ...
's health problems throughout his career, Claeys filled in as acting head coach when Kill was unable to coach. This first occurred in 2005, when Kill suffered a seizure on the sideline during a Southern Illinois game; Kill was later diagnosed with
kidney cancer Kidney cancer, also known as renal cancer, is a group of cancers that starts in the kidney. Symptoms may include blood in the urine, a lump in the abdomen, or back pain. Fever, weight loss, and tiredness may also occur. Complications can include ...
and
epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...
. Claeys filled in for Kill when Kill missed parts of three games in his first three years at Minnesota, and for the entire game when Kill had a seizure before a game at
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
in 2013. On October 10, 2013, it was announced that Kill would take an open-ended leave of absence from coaching to focus on treating his epilepsy. Claeys was appointed acting head coach until Kill's return. The Gophers went 4–3 under Claeys during the regular season, a stretch that included a four-game Big Ten conference win streak (the Gophers' first since 1973). They lost their bowl game to
Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...
, in which Coach Kill returned to the sidelines in the second half. Kill retired for health reasons on October 28, 2015, and Claeys was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season. On November 11, 2015, Minnesota dropped the "interim" tag from Claeys' title and formally named him as its 29th head coach. On January 3, 2017, he was fired after public outrage over a team-led boycott in response to suspensions of 10 Minnesota football players accused of having a role in a sexual assault case. Claeys was on-record stating he "supports isplayers’ 1st amendment rights!"


Washington State

Claeys was hired by Mike Leach on January 8, 2018, to be the defensive coordinator at
Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...
after Alex Grinch accepted a position 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 ...
. The Cougars ended the 2018 season with the fourth-ranked defense and led the
Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...
in sacks with 38. He resigned on October 4, 2019; at the time, Washington State's defense was ranked 107th in the nation and was allowing over 30 points per game. This came after the Cougars blew a 49–17 lead at home to the
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 ...
, losing 67–63 in a game in which Cougars quarterback Anthony Gordon threw for a record nine touchdowns.


Virginia Tech

Claeys joined the
Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...
staff as linebackers coach before the 2020 season. The team finished 5 - 6 and did not qualify for a bowl game, breaking a streak of 27 years of consecutive bowl game appearances. Claeys retired at the end of the season.


Head coaching record


Notes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Claeys, Tracy 1968 births Living people Emporia State Hornets football coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers football coaches Northern Illinois Huskies football coaches Saginaw Valley State Cardinals football coaches Southern Illinois Salukis football coaches Virginia Tech Hokies football coaches Washington State Cougars football coaches High school football coaches in Kansas Kansas State University alumni People from Clay Center, Kansas Coaches of American football from Kansas