Gary Darnell Named Defensive Coordinator
Dec 16, 2005 | Football
December 16, 2005
Texas A&M Head Coach Dennis Franchione announced the hiring of Gary Darnell as defensive coordinator today.
"I am pleased to announce Gary Darnell as our new defensive coordinator," Franchione said. "He has experience as both a defensive coordinator and head coach and I have known Gary for many years. I know he has great passion for his players and he has a high energy level. I have the utmost confidence in his ability to put together an outstanding defense."
Darnell, 57, most recently served as the head coach at Western Michigan University from 1997-2004. He took over a WMU program that went 2-9 in 1996 and in his first season the Broncos were the most improved team in the country fashioning an 8-3 record. In 1999 and 2000, the Broncos won the Mid-American Western Division and Darnell was named MAC Coach of the Year in 2000.
"I am very excited about the opportunity to work at Texas A&M," Darnell said. "First, we have to have versatility and flexibility in our defense to fit what we need to do to the personnel we have to do it with. We'll evaluate our players and we'll set up schemes that play to their talents and helps make them successful."
"The reason for that is we want to get good as fast as we can and continue to grow," Darnell said. "We'll get the best system we can run to succeed right now."
"Defense revolves around the different ways you can create extra help in the box," Darnell added. "In today's game of spread offenses, you have to cover not just the depth of the field, but also the width of the field, while always protecting against the run. It comes down to how you can create extra help in the box. And in college football, you have to be versatile enough to adjust to different attacks from week to week."
"One thing I do know, Aggie fans love great defenses," Darnell stated.
Darnell is no stranger to bowl games having coached in 10 bowl games including four times in the current BCS bowls. (Twice in the Sugar and once in the Orange and Fiesta.)
Darnell earned his head coaching position at Western Michigan after serving as the defensive coordinator at Texas from 1994-96. During that time, the Longhorns won three consecutive league championships, the 1994 and 1995 Southwest Conference titles and the inaugural 1996 Big 12 Championship. Darnell joined the Longhorn staff as an assistant head coach and special teams coordinator for the 1992-93 seasons. Several of his special teams were highly ranked with players earning All-Conference recognition.
The Horns played in the Fiesta Bowl following the 1996 season becoming the first Texas team to ever play 13 games in a season. Texas played in the Sugar Bowl following the 1995 season and in the 1994 Sun Bowl. Some of the standouts Darnell coached at Texas included defensive All-Americans Tony Brackens and Bryant Westbrook.
As a point of comparison, the statistical breakdown from 1993-97 for the Texas Longhorns follows:
Year Total Defense Scoring Defense 1993 401.2 yards per game 24.5 points per game (without Darnell) 1994 363.4 yards per game 23.6 points per game 1995 369.9 yards per game 18.8 points per game 1996 373.0 yards per game 22.3 points per game 1997 399.2 yards per game 33.3 points per game (without Darnell)
Serving as defensive coordinator is nothing new to Darnell. He served as the defensive coordinator at Notre Dame (1990-91), Florida (1988-89), Wake Forest (1986-87) as well as Kansas State (1978-82). Between his time at Kansas State and Wake Forest, Darnell served as the head coach at Tennessee Tech (1983-85). Darnell also served as the interim head coach at Florida for the final seven games in 1989.
His first collegiate coaching experience came at Oklahoma State as linebackers coach from 1971-72. He served as linebackers coach at SMU from 1973-75 and at North Carolina from 1976-77 before going to Kansas State.
While serving at the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for Lou Holtz at Notre Dame, Darnell coached All-Americans such as linebackers Michael Stonebreaker and Demetrius DuBose as well as defensive lineman Chris Zorich and cornerback Todd Lyght. The Fighting Irish played in the 1990 Orange Bowl and the 1991 Sugar Bowl.
At Florida, Darnell's defensive units led the Southeastern Conference in pass defense (123.6) in 1988 and ranked first in total defense (241.9) and rush defense (88.6) during the 1989 campaign. The Gators appeared in the 1988 All-American Bowl and the 1989 Freedom Bowl. Some of the players on the Gator squad included professional players such as Emmitt Smith, Trace Armstrong, Louis Oliver, Brad Culpepper, Tony McCoy and Godfrey Myles.
At Kansas State, Darnell was part of a coaching staff that led the Wildcats to their first bowl appearance in 86 years when KSU went to the Independence Bowl in 1982.
At North Carolina, the Tar Heels went to the 1976 Peach Bowl and the 1977 Liberty Bowl. That 1977 squad led the nation in scoring defense with an average of 7.4 points per game.
A native of Moore, Oklahoma, Darnell was a three-year letterman at Oklahoma State and earned his degree in 1969. He served as a graduate assistant for the 1970 season before being hired full-time in 1971. The Daily Oklahoman newspaper named Darnell to the Oklahoma State All-Century Team.
Darnell and his wife, Sandra, have a daughter, Kristen, who is married to Adam Battani. Darnell and his wife are the proud grandparents of Bryn.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING . . .
Current ESPN analyst and former Notre Dame Head Coach Lou Holtz: "Gary is an excellent football coach. He is a very solid individual and would be a real asset to the A&M family."
Current Virginia Tech Athletic Director and former Western Michigan AD Jim Weaver: "Gary Darnell is a combination of a very good person and a very good football coach who has a great work ethic. As a defensive coach, he gets his players to play very hard at a high level. He knows the game of football and you're talking about a guy who had handled numerous responsibilities at some great football programs and institutions such as Florida, Notre Dame and Texas."
Current Houston Texan and former Western Michigan football player Jason Babin: "He's a great guy to play for. He's all business on the field and a good person as well."
Current ESPN analyst and former Georgia Head Coach Jim Donnan: "Gary brings a world of experience to Texas A&M. He has experience playing against so many different offenses and he is a tremendous game day coach. I think he will add a lot to the Aggie staff."
Retired professional and collegiate head coach and athletic director Bill Arnsparger: "Gary Darnell is a top-flight coach and person. Defensively, he has a keen understanding of the team concept between linemen, linebackers and defensive backs that it takes to be successful. He instills strong discipline, and when you couple that with the excitement and encouragement he brings to a player, he's a perfect fit. When I was AD at Florida, he would have been our next head coach if Steve Spurrier had turned down the job in 1989. He's a great hire for Texas A&M University."
Former Kansas State Head Coach Jim Dickey: "When I was defensive coordinator at North Carolina, Gary Darnell was my linebackers coach. He was a key component in us putting together one of the best defenses in the country. I was fortunate enough to be named head coach at Kansas State, and I took Coach Darnell with me as the youngest defensive coordinator in the Big Eight. He has excellent defensive mind."
