Russell Dean Pees is a former American football coach who spent 18 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He has served as the defensive coordinator for the New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans, and Atlanta Falcons. Pees was also the head coach at Kent State University from 1998 to 2003, compiling a record of 17–51.
James J. Schwartz is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He was head coach of the Detroit Lions from 2009 to 2013. He was also defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans from 2001 to 2008, Buffalo Bills in 2014, and Philadelphia Eagles from 2016 to 2020. In addition, Schwartz was the Senior Defensive Assistant for the Titans from 2021 to 2022. He won Super Bowl LII with the Eagles in 2018.
Brian Knorr is an American college football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Air Force Falcons. He graduated from the Air Force Academy and played quarterback. He also was an assistant at the Air Force Academy when he went to Ohio University with Jim Grobe. He was the head coach of the Ohio Bobcats program from 2001 to 2004. He was fired on November 18, 2004, after he compiled an 11–35 (.239) record in four seasons. He was replaced by the more successful Frank Solich. He previously served as a defensive coordinator under the previous head coach, Grobe. His best season came in 2004, when his team went 4–7, including 2–6 in conference play. Until February 2008 he served as an assistant head coach at the Air Force Academy under head coach Troy Calhoun. In 2008, he accepted a position that reunited him with Grobe at Wake Forest University. In 2014 and 2015 he held the DC position for the Indiana Hoosiers football team. In January, 2016, Knorr did not have his contract renewed by Indiana.
Ronald Louis Cooper is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at Long Island University (LIU), a position he has held since the 2022 season. Cooper served as the head football coach at Eastern Michigan University from 1993 to 1994, the University of Louisville from 1995 to 1997, and Alabama A&M University from 1998 to 2001. He was also the interim head football coach at Florida International University (FIU) for the final eight games of the 2016 season. Cooper worked one season in the National Football League, as the defensive backs coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012. A native of Huntsville, Alabama, Cooper played high school football at Lee High School and college football at Jacksonville State University.
Ronald Everett English is an American football coach and former player. He is the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach for the Louisville Cardinals. English also served as the head football coach at Eastern Michigan University from 2009 to 2013, compiling a record of 11–46.
Charles R. Stobart was an American college football player and coach. He played as a quarterback at Ohio University in the 1950s. He was a football coach at various schools for 42 years from 1959 to 2000, including 36 consecutive seasons as a coach at Division I collegiate programs.
Stephen Christopher Spagnuolo is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He rejoined Andy Reid in 2019 after being a defensive assistant with him from 1999 to 2006 with the Philadelphia Eagles. He has coached four top-ten defenses as a defensive coordinator in terms of yardage. He has won four Super Bowls as defensive coordinator, one with the New York Giants and three with the Kansas City Chiefs, making him the only coordinator in NFL history to win a Super Bowl with two different franchises. Some historic defenses that Spagnuolo has coached throughout his career include the 2007 New York Giants defense and the 2023 Kansas City Chiefs defense.
James T. Reid is an American football coach and former player. Reid served as head football coach at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) from 1986 to 1991, University of Richmond from 1995 through 2003, and Virginia Military Institute (VMI) from 2006 until 2007, compiling an overall college football record of 87–101–3.
Scott Shafer is an American football coach and former player. He has served as the defensive coordinator for the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders. Previously, he served as the head coach at Syracuse University until November 2015.
James Edward Willis III is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) and a former coach in the NCAA and in the NFL. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fifth round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He played college football at Auburn. He played high school football at J.O. Johnson High School in Huntsville, Alabama. He was the defensive assistant/linebackers coach for the New Orleans Saints of the NFL until his termination on January 5, 2017.
The UMass Minutemen football team represents the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The Minutemen compete as an FBS independent. Since 1965, their home games have been played at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium on the university's campus in Hadley, Massachusetts.
Robert S. Griffin is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Idaho State University from 1972 to 1975 and the University of Rhode Island from 1976 to 1992, compiling a career college football coaching record of 100–127–1. His 79 wins with the Rhode Island Rams are the most of any head coach in program history. Griffin was born and raised in Milford, Connecticut and graduated from Southern Connecticut State College in 1963. He played college football at Southern Connecticut State as a quarterback and holds the team record for longest completed pass.
Paul Casey "Gus" Bradley is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as the defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks from 2009 to 2012, where he was the original playcaller of the team's Legion of Boom secondary. Bradley later served as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2013 to 2016. Following his dismissal from Jacksonville, he returned to assistant coaching and became the Colts' defensive coordinator in 2022.
The Idaho State Bengals football program represents Idaho State University in college football. The Bengals play their home games at the ICCU Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Pocatello, Idaho. Idaho State is a charter member of the Big Sky Conference in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Through the 2022 season, the Bengals have an all-time record of 478–545–20 (.468). Idaho State's current head coach is Cody Hawkins, who was hired on December 11, 2022.
Peter C. Kuharchek was an American football coach and former player, whose coaching career spanned over 40 years at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. He was the head coach for the Rhein Fire of the NFL Europe League (NFLEL) from 2001 to 2005, compiling a record of 24 wins and 28 losses. At the collegiate level, he most notably served as defensive coordinator at the University of Memphis from 1987 to 1989, and the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) from 1994 through 1995. Besides his tenure in the NFLEL — which also included stints as assistant for the Orlando Thunder (1992) and Rhein Fire (1996–2000) — Kuharchek worked in four other professional leagues — including the United States Football League (USFL), Canadian Football League (CFL), Arena Football League (AFL), and United Football League (UFL). Most notably, he was the defensive coordinator for the CFL's Toronto Argonauts in 2009.
The Rhode Island Rams baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball team of the University of Rhode Island, located in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. The program has been a member of the NCAA Division I Atlantic 10 Conference since the start of the 1981 season. Since the 1966 season, the program has played at Bill Beck Field, located on the university's campus. The program has appeared in two NCAA tournaments. It has won two conference tournaments, three regular season conference titles, and three regular season division titles. Three former Rams have appeared in Major League Baseball.
The KCU Knights football program represents Kentucky Christian University in college football. They are football-only members of Mid-South Conference of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The Knights have played their home games at KCU Field since the inception of their football team in 2008.
Mark Criner is an American football coach. He currently serves as the outside linebackers coach for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team. At the college football level, he served defensive coordinator for six seasons at the University of Idaho, and also held the same position at Middle Tennessee, Cincinnati, Portland State, the original XFL's Las Vegas Outlaws, and CSU–Pueblo. He has also worked as a defensive assistant at Minnesota, Eastern Michigan, Utah State, Lamar, LSU, the Alliance of American Football's Atlanta Legends, and Tulane. He was also the linebackers coach and assistant special teams coach for the Seattle Dragons.
Bill Bleil is an American football coach and former player who is currently the offensive line coach for the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). He played college football at Northwestern and has also coached the New Mexico Highlands Cowboys, Dana Vikings, Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds, Northwestern Red Raiders, Pacific Tigers, Western Carolina Catamounts, South Dakota Coyotes, Northern Illinois Huskies, Pittsburgh Panthers, Akron Zips, Iowa State Cyclones, Rhode Island Rams, Missouri Southern Lions, Lamar Cardinals, and Mary Hardin–Baylor Crusaders.
The 2024 Rhode Island Rams football team will represent the University of Rhode Island as a member of the Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference during the 2024 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Rams will be led by 11th-year head coach Jim Fleming and play their home games at Meade Stadium.
