Brad Lambert (born January 14, 1965) is an American college football coach who is currently the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

. He was the head coach of the

Charlotte 49ers The Charlotte 49ers are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 49ers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

until November 18, 2018, and helped transition the 49ers football program from conception through a two year stint in the Football Championship Subdivision to the

Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

in 2015, when the program joined the rest of the 49ers' sports in programs in Conference USA.

Playing career

Kansas State

Lambert played defensive back for the

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...

, lettering for four straight seasons and graduating in 1987. He earned second-team all- Big Eight honors his freshman season. He also was an all-Big Eight Academic choice from 1984 to 1986.

Coaching career

Oklahoma

Lambert began his coaching career as a graduate assistant with the Oklahoma

Sooners Sooners is the name given to settlers who entered the Unassigned Lands in what is now the state of Oklahoma before the official start of the Land Rush of 1889. The Unassigned Lands were a part of Indian Territory that, after a lobbying campaig ...

Marshall

Lambert's first assistant coaching position was under head coach

Jim Donnan James Mason Donnan III (born January 29, 1945) is a former American football player and coach and now a television analyst for college football and a Motivational speaking, motivational speaker. He served as the head football coach at Marshall ...

with the

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

Thundering Herd from 1990 to 1995. While at Marshall, Lambert participated in four

NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship The NCAA Division I Football Championship is an annual post-season college football game, played since 2006, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). From 1978 to 2005, the game was k ...

Games with Marshall winning the 1992

Georgia

Lambert continued to work for Coach Donnan when the latter became head coach for the

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.1998 Outback Bowl The 1998 Outback Bowl featured the Georgia Bulldogs and the Wisconsin Badgers. It was the 12th edition of the Outback Bowl Georgia scored first on a 2-yard touchdown run from running back Robert Edwards, giving Georgia an early 6–0 lead. Edwa ...

, the 1998 Peach Bowl, the 2000 Outback Bowl, and the

2000 Oahu Bowl The 2000 Jeep Oahu Bowl was a college football bowl game, played as part of the 2000–01 bowl game schedule of the 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the 3rd and final game named Oahu Bowl, and became the Seattle Bowl for the 2001 co ...

. Georgia compiled a 40–19 record during Lambert's time with the Bulldogs.

Wake Forest

After the 2000 football season, Lambert accepted the linebacker coaching position under head coach

Jim Grobe Jim Britt Grobe (born February 17, 1952) is an American football coach and former player who was most recently the defensive coordinator of the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football. His previous position to that was as head ...

with the Wake Forest

Demon Deacons A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...

. In 2007 Lambert was promoted to defensive coordinator for the Demon Deacons. At Wake Forest Lambert was part of the

2006 ACC Championship Game The 2006 Dr Pepper ACC Championship Game featured the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in a regular-season American football game to determine the champion of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Wake Forest defeated Geo ...

team. He coached 2008

Butkus Award The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame ...

winner Aaron Curry, who would go on to play in the NFL and eventually serve as an assistant coach for Lambert at Charlotte.

Charlotte

Lambert was hired as the first-ever head football coach for the Charlotte 49ers on March 1, 2011 In his first game, Lambert led the 49ers to a decisive 52–7 victory at home over the

Campbell Fighting Camels The Campbell Fighting Camels represent Campbell University is the nickname of the school's 21 teams that compete at the Division I level of the NCAA. Teams A member of the Big South Conference, Campbell sponsors teams in nine men's and ten w ...

. Lambert led the 49ers to a 5–6 record in their inaugural season. On September 4, 2015, Lambert led the 49ers to their first FBS victory, over the

Georgia State Panthers The Georgia State Panthers are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Georgia State University, located in Atlanta, Georgia. Almost all GSU teams compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as me ...

. The team failed to have a winning season during its first four seasons, finishing the 2017 season with a 1–11 record and going 12–36 over the course of four FBS seasons. Lambert was released by Charlotte on November 18, 2018 effective after the season, after going 22–48 in six seasons.

Marshall

Lambert returned to Marshall to serve as a defensive assistant and likely defensive coordinator. After his contract terms with Charlotte were negotiated, Thundering Herd coach Doc Holliday named Lambert his defensive coordinator.

Purdue

Lambert was hired as a co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Purdue in 2021.

Wake Forest (second stint)

In 2022 Lambert returned to Wake Forest, replacing Lyle Hemphill as the team’s defensive coordinator.

Personal

Lambert is married and has three children.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Wake Forest profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Brad 1965 births Living people American football defensive backs Charlotte 49ers football coaches Georgia Bulldogs football coaches Kansas State Wildcats football players Marshall Thundering Herd football coaches Oklahoma Sooners football coaches Purdue Boilermakers football coaches Wake Forest Demon Deacons football coaches People from Hoxie, Kansas Coaches of American football from Kansas Players of American football from Kansas