Brian Stewart (born December 4, 1964) is an American football coach who is the

Defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

of the Houston Roughnecks. He was previously the defensive backs coach at Baylor University and

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

for the 2017 season.

Early years

Stewart attended Nogales High School. He accepted a football scholarship from

Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was founded in 1899 as the final public university established in the Arizona Territory, 13 years before Arizona was admitted as the 48th state. ...

. He transferred to

Santa Monica City College Santa Monica College (SMC) is a public, community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. Although initially serving primarily pre-college high s ...

after his freshman season, when he was ruled academically ineligible. He played both at cornerback and

free safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

. He transferred for his junior season back to

. He played cornerback for the 1986 and 1987 teams.

Coaching career

Cal Poly

Stewart began his collegiate career as an offensive assistant at

Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (California Polytechnic State University, Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt in Arcata, California or California State Polytechnic Univ ...

, working with the wide receivers in 1993 and the running backs in 1994, when the school won the American West Conference title.

Northern Arizona

In 1995, he coached tight ends and special teams at

Missouri

In 1996, he was a defensive graduate assistant at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

San Jose State

From 1997 to 1998, he was the secondary coach at

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...

Missouri (second stint)

From 1999 to 2000, he was the secondary coach at the

Syracuse

In 2001, he was the defensive backs coach at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

under head coach Paul Pasqualoni, contributing to a 10-3 record and the No. 14 ranking in final Associated Press poll.

Houston Texans

In 2002, he began his NFL career as the assistant defensive backs coach with the expansion

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

San Diego Chargers

In 2004, he was hired as the secondary coach with the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

under defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.

Dallas Cowboys

In 2007, when Phillips became the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, he named Stewart as the defensive coordinator.

Philadelphia Eagles

In 2009, he was hired as the defensive special assistant with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

Houston

Stewart held the position of defensive coordinator on the Houston Cougars football team from 2010 to 2011 at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

Maryland

In 2012, Stewart was hired as the defensive coordinator at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

. Stewart's defense was second-ranked in yards per game in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

and the 21st in the nation.

Nebraska

Stewart was the defensive backs coach at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

from 2015 to 2016.

Rice

In 2017, he was the defensive coordinator and interim head coach at

Detroit Lions

On February 7, 2018, Stewart was hired by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

as their defensive backs coach of the

under defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni and head coach

Matt Patricia Matthew Edward Patricia (born September 13, 1974) is an American football coach who is the senior football advisor and offensive line coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He has served 15 non-consecutive sea ...

Baylor Bears

In 2020, Stewart was hired as the cornerbacks coach at Baylor University under head coach

Dave Aranda David Christopher Aranda (born September 29, 1976) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach at Baylor University. He previously served as the defensive coordinator at LSU, Wisconsin, Utah State, Hawaii, Delta State, and Cal ...

Maryland (second stint)

On February 16, 2021, Stewart returned and was hired as the defensive coordinator at the

under head coach Mike Locksley, replacing

Jon Hoke Jonathan David Hoke (born January 24, 1957) is an American football coach who is the Passing game coordinator and cornerbacks coach for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the defensive coordinator ...

, who departed to become the secondary coach for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

. He left the staff following the season.

XFL

In June 2022, It was announced Stewart would become the XFL's Houston Roughnecks Defensive Coordinator.

Personal life

Stewart's family includes wife Kimberly and their children Leila, Mya, and Zara. He currently resides in Chandler, Arizona.

References

External links

Baylor profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Brian 1964 births Living people Players of American football from San Diego American football cornerbacks American football safeties Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football players Santa Monica Corsairs football players Baylor Bears football coaches Cal Poly Mustangs football coaches Dallas Cowboys coaches Detroit Lions coaches Houston Cougars football coaches Houston Roughnecks coaches Houston Texans coaches Maryland Terrapins football coaches Missouri Tigers football coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers football coaches Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football coaches Philadelphia Eagles coaches San Diego Chargers coaches San Jose State Spartans football coaches Syracuse Orange football coaches