Gary Darnell
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| Gary Darnell | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Sport | Football | |
| Born | October 15, 1948 | |
| Place of birth |  Waldron, Arkansas |
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| Career highlights | ||
| Overall | 52-80 | |
| Coaching stats | ||
| College Football DataWarehouse | ||
| Championships | ||
| MAC West Division Championship (1999, 2000) | ||
| Playing career | ||
| 1966–1969 | Oklahoma State | |
| Position | LB | |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | ||
| 1970 1971–1972 1973–1975 1976–1977 1978–1982 1983–1985 1986–1987 1988–1989 1989 1990–1991 1992–1993 1994–1996 1997–2004 2006–2007 2007 |
Oklahoma State (GA) Oklahoma State (LBs) SMU (LBs) North Carolina (LBs) Kansas State (Asst. HC/DC) Tennessee Tech Wake Forest (Asst. HC/DC) Florida (DC) Florida (Interim HC) Notre Dame (Asst. HC/DC) Texas (Asst. HC/ST) Texas (Asst. HC/DC) Western Michigan Texas A&M (DC) Texas A&M (Interim HC) |
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Gary Brent Darnell (born October 15, 1948) is the former defensive coordinator of the Texas A&M Aggies football team. A long-time defensive coordinator, Darnell was previously the head coach at Western Michigan University and Tennessee Technological University, and interim head coach at the University of Florida.
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[edit] College career
Gary Darnell attended Oklahoma State University as a personal management major and linebacker for the Cowboys football team. As a senior in 1969, he earned All-Big Eight Conference linebacker honors. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1969 and again joined the Oklahoma State football team as a graduate assistant.
[edit] Assistant and interim head coaching career
In 1971, he was hired on a full-time basis as the linebackers coach. He later joined the coaching staffs at Southern Methodist University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill under the same position.
In 1978, Darnell became assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Kansas State University. Darnell and the new staff turned around a program that went 0-11 in 1977, taking them to the Independence Bowl in 1982, Kansas State's first bowl appearance.
In 1986, Darnell joined the staff of Al Groh at Wake Forest University as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. He spent two years with the Demon Deacons before accepting the same position at the University of Florida. In each of his two seasons at Florida, his defenses ranked third nationally and first in the Southeastern Conference. In 1989, he took over for his fired predecessor, Galen Hall, as head coach at Florida, leading the team to a 3-4 record over the season's final seven games.
In 1990, he accepted a position under Lou Holtz at the University of Notre Dame as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. He later joined John Mackovic's staff at the University of Texas at Austin as assistant head coach and special teams coordinator in 1992. Two years later, he moved from special teams to defensive coordinator, serving in that position through the 1996 season.
[edit] Texas A&M
Darnell was hired as defensive coordinator at Texas A&M University by Head Coach Dennis Franchione for the 2006 season. Franchione had previously served as Darnell's offensive coordinator at Tennessee Tech in 1983 and 1984. Inheriting a team that finished #107 in total defense and #97 in scoring defense, Darnell implemented a quick turnaround, with the 2006 team finishing #37 in total defense and #32 in scoring defense.[1] A day after head coach Dennis Franchione resigned, A&M athletic director Bill Byrne named Darnell the interim head coach. Darnell coached the Aggies in the 2007 Alamo Bowl, which was Darnell's 12th bowl to coach.[2]
[edit] Head coaching career
[edit] Tennessee Tech
After his success at Kansas State, Darnell was hired as head coach at Tennessee Technological University in 1983 where his success as a defensive coach was not duplicated. In his three years with Tennessee Tech, Darnell compiled a 3-29 record.
[edit] Western Michigan
Darnell was hired in 1997 by Western Michigan University as head coach. Inheriting a team that finished 2-9 in 1996, Darnell led a six game turnaround to 8-3, the largest turnaround among NCAA teams in 1997. Western Michigan entered the 1998 season with a seven-game winning streak, the fourth-longest in the nation. The 1998 squad finished with a 7-4 overall record. In 1999, the Broncos clinched the Mid-American Conference West Division title on their way to a 7-5 overall record. The following year, the Broncos repeated as West Division champions with the fourth-best scoring defense in the nation, were ranked as high as 27 in the national polls, and held an eight-game winning streak, the longest at Western Michigan in 41 years. For his efforts, Darnell was named the 2000 Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year [3] .
Following the 2000 season, Darnell became a top candidate for several head coaching positions at BCS conference schools, including the University of Missouri, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Rutgers University, and Oklahoma State University. [4] [5]. He ultimately signed a 5-year extension to remain at WMU. Darnell's last four seasons at Western Michigan were less successful, with the team posting a combined 15-31 record and without a winning season. Darnell was fired after the 2004 season, and the remaining year left on his contract was bought out by the university [6]. Darnell spent the 2005 season out of coaching. His career record at WMU was 46 wins and 46 losses.
[edit] Yearly results
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee Technological University (Ohio Valley Conference) (1983 – 1985) | |||||||||
| 1983 | Tennessee Tech | 2-8 | 2-5 | ||||||
| 1984 | Tennessee Tech | 0-11 | 0-7 | ||||||
| 1985 | Tennessee Tech | 1-10 | 1-6 | ||||||
| Tennessee Tech: | 3-29 | 3-18 | |||||||
| University of Florida (Southeastern Conference) (1989) | |||||||||
| 1989 | Florida (interim) | 3-4 | 2-2 | L Freedom Bowl | |||||
| Florida: | 3-4 | 2-2 | |||||||
| Western Michigan University (Mid-American Conference) (1997 – 2004) | |||||||||
| 1997 | Western Michigan | 8-3 | 6-2 | 2nd | |||||
| 1998 | Western Michigan | 7-4 | 5-3 | 3rd | |||||
| 1999 | Western Michigan | 7-5 | 6-2 | 1st | |||||
| 2000 | Western Michigan | 9-3 | 7-1 | 1st | |||||
| 2001 | Western Michigan | 5-6 | 4-4 | 4th | |||||
| 2002 | Western Michigan | 4-8 | 3-5 | 5th | |||||
| 2003 | Western Michigan | 5-7 | 4-4 | 4th | |||||
| 2004 | Western Michigan | 1-10 | 0-8 | 7th | |||||
| Western Michigan: | 46-46 | 35-29 | |||||||
| Texas A&M University (Big 12 Conference) (2007) | |||||||||
| 2007 | Texas A&M (interim) | 0-1 | — | — | L Alamo Bowl | ||||
| Texas A&M: | 0-1 | 0–0 | |||||||
| Total: | 52-80 | ||||||||
| National Championship Conference Title Conference Division Title | |||||||||
| #Rankings from final Coaches Poll of the season. | |||||||||
[edit] References
- ^ Sortable Team Stats: Total Defense. Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved on 2007-06-22.
- ^ Texas A&M Athletics (2007-11-24). "Darnell Named Interim Head Football Coach". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
- ^ MAC Football Awards. VanDelaySports.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-27.
- ^ North Carolina Interviews New Orleans Assistant Coach. CNNSI.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-17.
- ^ Irish Sports Report. Irish Sports Report. Retrieved on 2007-07-17.
- ^ Gary Darnell. The Topeka Capital-Journal. Retrieved on 2007-06-22.
[edit] External links
- Official Bio from AggieAthletics.com
- Biography of Darnell from hawkzone.com by The Topeka Capital-Journal
| Preceded by Galen Hall |
University of Florida Head Football Coach 1989 |
Succeeded by Steve Spurrier |
| Preceded by Leon Fuller |
University of Texas Defensive coordinator 1994–1996 |
Succeeded by Bobby Jack Wright |
| Preceded by Al Molde |
Western Michigan University Head Football Coach 1997–2004 |
Succeeded by Bill Cubit |
| Preceded by Dennis Franchione |
Texas A&M University Head Football Coach 2007 |
Succeeded by Mike Sherman |
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