Lorenzo Ward

Last updated • 2 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Lorenzo Ward
Current position
Title Special Assistant to the Head Coach
Team Clemson Tigers
Conference ACC
Biographical details
Born (1967-04-26) April 26, 1967 (age 57)
Greensboro, Alabama, U.S.
Playing career
1986–1989 Alabama
Position(s) Strong safety, linebacker
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1991 Alabama (GA)
1994–1998 Chattanooga (DB)
1999–2005 Virginia Tech (DB)
2006–2007 Oakland Raiders (ST/assistant DB)
2008 Arkansas (DB)
2009–2015 South Carolina (DC)
2016 Fresno State (DC)
2017–2018 Louisville (AHC/DB)
2018Louisville (interim HC)
2019–2024Chattanooga (DC)
2024-PresentClemson (Special Assistant)
Head coaching record
Overall0–2

Lorenzo Ward (born April 26, 1967) is an American football coach. He is the Special Assistant to the Head Coach at Clemson University. Ward served as the interim head football coach at the University of Louisville for the final two games of the 2018 season following the firing of Bobby Petrino. Ward played college football at the University of Alabama from 1986 to 1989.

Contents

Playing career

Ward was born and raised in Greensboro, Alabama. A 1991 graduate of the University of Alabama, Ward played for the Crimson Tide from 1986 to 1989 under head coaches Ray Perkins (1986) and Bill Curry (1987-89).

Coaching career

Ward's first job was at his alma mater as a graduate assistant during the Tide's 1991 season. Ward then worked for the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga from 1994 to 1998.

In 1999, Ward was hired by Frank Beamer to join Virginia Tech's coach staff. Here, Ward coached the secondary and had five all-Big East players and one all-ACC player, including DeAngelo Hall. During his last year, the Hokies led the nation in total defense, allowing just 247.6 yards per game. [1]

Ward then joined the Oakland Raiders for the 2006 before rejoining the college ranks at Arkansas (2008) and then as defensive coordinator at South Carolina from 2012 to 2015 under Steve Spurrier. [2]

Ward spent the 2016 season as the defensive coordinator at Fresno State before being hired by Louisville in 2017 as secondary coach.

On November 11, 2018, Louisville fired Bobby Petrino after the team's 2–8 start. Ward was named interim head coach and coached his first game in this role against N.C. State on November 17, 2018. [3]

On June 4, 2019, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga re-hired him to be the defensive coordinator. [4]

On May 9, 2024, Clemson University announced the hiring of Ward as the Special Assistant to the Head Coach. [5]

Head coaching record

YearTeamOverallConferenceStandingBowl/playoffs
Louisville Cardinals (Atlantic Coast Conference)(2018)
2018 Louisville 0–20–17th (Atlantic)
Louisville:0–20–1
Total:0–2

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Petrino</span> American football player and coach (born 1961)

Robert Patrick Petrino is an American college football coach who is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Arkansas. He served as the head football coach at Missouri State from 2020 to 2022. Petrino previously served as the head coach at the University of Louisville from 2014 until being fired during the 2018 season. He also held the post from 2003 to 2006. From 2008 to 2011, Petrino was the head coach at the University of Arkansas. He was dismissed from that position in the spring of 2012 for covering up an extramarital affair with an athletic department staffer. Petrino also coached the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL) for the first 13 games of the 2007 season. He spent the 2013 season as head football coach at Western Kentucky. He also was the offensive coordinator at Texas A&M in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Kragthorpe</span> American football coach (1965–2024)

Steven Jon Kragthorpe was an American college football head coach. He served as the head coach for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane from 2003 through 2006 and the Louisville Cardinals from 2007 to 2009. After his head coaching career he was an administrative assistant for the Louisiana State University football program after previously serving as quarterbacks coach for the Tigers football team.

John Lawrence Smith is an American college football coach. He was the head football coach at Kentucky State University in Frankfort, Kentucky, a position he held from 2016 until he was fired by the university in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Owens (American football)</span> American football player (born 1980)

Richard Owens is a former American football tight end. The Minnesota Vikings acquired him as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He played college football at Louisville.

Joe Kines is a former American football player and coach. He spent most of his coaching career as an assistant in college football ranks, and twice serving as an interim head coach: in 1992 at the University of Arkansas after the firing of Jack Crowe after Arkansas's first game, and in 2006 at the University of Alabama after the dismissal of Mike Shula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisville Cardinals football</span> College football team representing University of Louisville

The Louisville Cardinals football team represents the University of Louisville in the sport of American football. The Cardinals compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Strong</span> American football coach (born 1960)

Charles Rene Strong is an American football coach who was most recently the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at the University of Miami. He recently served as the assistant head coach and inside linebackers coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL) in 2021 and also previously served as a defensive analyst at the University of Alabama in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Holt</span> American football player and coach (born 1962)

Nicholas Holt V is an American football coach who is currently the head coach of Skorpions Varese of the Federazione Italiana di American Football. Previously he was co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Purdue University for three seasons from 2017 to 2019. Before that he was the defensive coordinator at Western Kentucky from 2013 to 2016. Earlier in his career, Holt was defensive coordinator and assistant head coach of the Washington Huskies, defensive coordinator and defensive line coach of the USC Trojans, and head coach of the Idaho Vandals from 2004 to 2005.

"Brother" Bill Oliver is a former American football player and coach. He served as a head football coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga from 1980 to 1983 and at Auburn University for the final five games of the 1998 season, compiling a career college football record of 31–17–1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football</span> College football team that represents Western Kentucky University

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football program is a college football team that represents Western Kentucky University. The team competes at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level and represents the university as a member of Conference USA in the Eastern division. The 2002 team was the FCS national champion. The program has 13 conference championships and 7 FBS-level bowl game victories. The Hilltoppers play their home games at Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green, Kentucky and the team's head football coach is Tyson Helton.

Joe Whitt Jr. is an American professional football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Auburn Tigers and has served as a defensive backs coach with the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, and Dallas Cowboys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Petrino</span> American football player and coach (born 1967)

Paul Vincent Petrino is an American football coach, currently the wide receivers coach at the University of South Alabama in Mobile. He was previously the head coach at the University of Idaho in Moscow, with an overall record of 34–66 (.340) over nine seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Georgia Bulldogs football team</span> American college football season

The 2014 Georgia Bulldogs football team represented the University of Georgia in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by head coach Mark Richt, who was in his 14th year as head coach. The Bulldogs played their home games at Sanford Stadium. They were a member of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Georgia finished the season with a 10–3 overall record, 6–2 in SEC play placing second place in the East Division. They earned an invitation to play in the Belk Bowl against the Louisville Cardinals, which they won, 37–14.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Louisville Cardinals football team</span> American college football season

The 2018 Louisville Cardinals football team represented the University of Louisville during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cardinals competed in the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They played their home games at Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky. They were led by head coach Bobby Petrino until he was fired on November 11 after starting the season 2–8. Lorenzo Ward was the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. They finished the season 2–10, 0–8 in ACC play to finish in last place in the Atlantic Division.

The 2019 Atlantic Coast Conference football season, part of the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season, is the 67th season of college football play for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). It began on August 29, 2019, and ended on January 13, 2020. The ACC consists of 14 members in two divisions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Pittman</span> American football player and coach (born 1961)

Sam Pittman is an American football coach who is the head football coach at the University of Arkansas. Prior to being hired at Arkansas, he was the associate head coach and offensive line coach at the University of Georgia. Prior to his hiring at Arkansas, Pittman spent almost his entire career, going back to the mid-1990s, as an offensive line coach at various college football programs. He also became known as one of the country's top recruiters.

David Blackwell is an American football coach who is currently the defensive tackles coach at the University of Missouri, a position he has held since 2023. He was previously the defensive coordinator at Old Dominion University and East Carolina University, serving as the interim head coach for the latter in 2018 after the termination of Scottie Montgomery and the defensive coordinator at Louisiana Tech University from 2020 to 2021.

Mark Ivey is an American college football coach who is the linebackers coach at the University of Louisville. A longtime high school football coach in Florida, he joined the college coaching ranks at his alma mater, Appalachian State, in 2012, serving as their interim head coach in 2018 when Scott Satterfield departed to be the head coach at Louisville. He followed Satterfield to Louisville in 2019 to serve as his defensive line coach.

Chris Rumph is an American football coach who is currently the defensive ends coach at Clemson University. He previously served as the defensive line coach for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). Rumph previously coached at the collegiate level for over 15 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Todd Bates (American football)</span> American football player and coach (born 1983)

Todd Bates is an American football coach and former defensive end who is currently the co-defensive coordinator and defensive tackles coach at the University of Oklahoma. He previously served as the defensive tackles coach and recruiting coordinator at Clemson University from 2018 to 2021

References

  1. "Meet Lorenzo Ward, Louisville football's new interim coach". The Courier-Journal.
  2. "Lorenzo Ward - 0 Coach - University of Louisville Athletics". University of Louisville Athletics.
  3. "Louisville football fires coach Bobby Petrino". The Courier-Journal.
  4. "Wright Names Lorenzo Ward Defensive Coordinator". GoMocs.com. June 4, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  5. "Former South Carolina DC Lorenzo Ward joins Clemson staff in key off-field role". on3.com. May 9, 2024.