Brian VanGorder
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brian VanGorder was born April 17, 1959 in Jackson, Michigan. He began his football coaching career as a high school coach in 1981 and joined the college ranks in 1989 at Grand Valley State University. He became head football coach at his alma mater, Wayne State University in 1992. After leaving Wayne State University in 1994, he coached at University of Central Florida, Central Michigan and Western Illinois University before joining the University of Georgia coaching staff in 2001. He was the defensive coordinator and linebacker coach at Georgia for four years and won the Frank Broyles Assistant Coach of the Year Award in 2003. In January, 2005, Vangorder joined the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars as linebacker coach.
On December 12, 2005, he was named the fifth head football coach for Georgia Southern University. VanGorder made sweeping changes to the program, most notably changing the team's offense by removing the run-oriented triple option Georgia Southern had run for years (with much success) for a focus on the passing game. However, these changes were mostly unsuccessful, as the team promptly went to a 3-8 record, for their first losing season since 1996. His short stay as a head coach at Georgia Southern upset many fans and alumni of Georgia Southern; they felt as if they were deceived about VanGorder's true intentions.
On January 16, 2007, ESPN reported that Vangorder was joining new Atlanta Falcons Head Coach Bobby Petrino's staff as their linebackers coach.
[edit] Sources
- Jacksonville Jaguars bio, retrieved November 17, 2006.
- Brian Van Gorder Named Georgia Southern Head Football Coach, December 12, 2005 story on CSTV.com
- Van Gorder leaves GSU after one year, retrieved January 16, 2007.
