David Edward Bailiff (born May 26, 1958) is an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
coach and former player. He was most recently the head coach at
Texas A&M University–Commerce
Texas A&M University–Commerce is a public university in Commerce, Texas. With an enrollment of over 12,000 students as of fall 2017, the university is the third-largest institution in the Texas A&M University System. Founded in 1889, the inst ...
from 2019-2022; prior to that he was the head coach at
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universities ...
in
Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
from 2007 to 2017. During his tenure as head coach, the Rice Owls played in four
bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivi ...
s, winning 3 of them, and won the
2013 Conference USA football championship. He also coached at his alma mater,
Texas State University
Texas State University is a public research university in San Marcos, Texas. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to the second largest university in the Greater Austin metropolitan area and the fifth largest university ...
, where he led the Bobcats to the NCAA Division I-AA National Semifinals in 2005.
Playing career
Bailiff played for three years as an
offensive lineman and
tight end
The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...
for coach
Jim Wacker
James Herbert Wacker (April 28, 1937 – August 26, 2003) was an American football coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Texas Lutheran University (1971–1975), North Dakota State University (1976–1 ...
at
Southwest Texas State University
Texas State University is a public research university in San Marcos, Texas. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to the second largest university in the Greater Austin metropolitan area and the fifth largest university ...
in
San Marcos, Texas. As a senior in 1980, he was team captain.
Coaching career
Early coaching career
After graduating in 1981, Bailiff's first coaching job was in the high school ranks in
New Braunfels, Texas
New Braunfels ( ) is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas known for its German Texan heritage. It is the seat of Comal County. The city covers and had a population of 90,403 as of the 2020 Census. A suburb just nor ...
. After three years coaching the defensive line at
New Braunfels High School
New Braunfels High School (commonly referred to as NBHS) is a public high school in New Braunfels, Texas, United States, that was established in 1845. Up until 2008, New Braunfels was one of the largest 4A high schools in Texas and is classified ...
, he left coaching and entered the private sector for four years. He returned to coaching in 1988 as a graduate assistant at Southwest Texas and was promoted the next year to a full-time position that he held until he was hired to coach the defensive line at the
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...
by Lobos' head coach
Dennis Franchione
Dennis Wayne Franchione (born March 28, 1951), also known as Coach Fran, is a retired American football coach. He is the former head football coach at Texas State University, a position he held from 1990 to 1991, when the school w ...
. In 1997, Bailiff returned to Southwest Texas as the
defensive coordinator. In 2001, he was hired to serve in the same role at
TCU by coach
Gary Patterson
Gary Allen Patterson (born February 13, 1960) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the special assistant to the head coach at the University of Texas. He is the former head football coach at Texas Christian University ...
. Following the 2002 season, in which the
Horned Frogs' defense, led by All-American linebacker
LaMarcus McDonald, ranked 2nd in the nation, Bailiff was named the nation's Top Assistant Coach by the All American Football Foundation.
Texas State
On February 5, 2004, Bailiff again returned to his alma mater, which by now was known as Texas State University, this time as head coach. In his first season as the Bobcats' head coach, he guided them to a 5–6 record. In 2005, they finished the regular season 9–2 and were
Southland Conference
The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it ...
Champions. They then won two games in the
NCAA Division I-AA playoffs
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 ...
, eventually losing to
Northern Iowa
Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...
. In 2006, the Bobcats were again 5–6.
Rice
![David Bailiff 2009](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/David_Bailiff_2009.jpg)
On January 19, 2007,
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universities ...
hired Bailiff as head coach, replacing
Todd Graham
Michael Todd Graham (born December 5, 1964) is an American football coach and former player. He was most recently the head football coach at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (2020–2021). Graham has served as the head football coach at Rice ...
. In 2008, he led Rice to a 9–3 record and an appearance in the
2008 Texas Bowl—only their second bowl appearance in 47 years. The Owls won that game 38–14 for Rice's first 10-win season since 1949, and Bailiff was rewarded with a five-year contract extension. In 2012, Rice returned to bowl action with a win over Air Force in the
Armed Forces Bowl. The following season, Bailiff became the first coach in Rice history to record two 10-win seasons as Rice won its first outright conference championship since
1957 by defeating
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 ...
41–24 and earning a berth in the
Liberty Bowl
The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic City ...
. In 2014, Bailiff led the Owls to a third consecutive bowl game as Rice defeated Fresno State 30–3 in the
Hawai'i Bowl
The Hawaiʻi Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played in the Honolulu, Hawaii area since 2002. The game was originally held at Aloha Stadium in Halawa, Hawaii, a suburb of Honolulu, before moving to the Clarence T. C. Ching Ath ...
.
In 2017, Bailiff was fired after the conclusion of a
1-11 season, his worst at Rice. His 57 wins are the second most in school history, behind only Hall of Famer
Jess Neely
Jesse Claiborne Neely (January 4, 1898 – April 9, 1983) was an American football player and a baseball and football coach. He was head football coach at Southwestern University (now Rhodes College) from 1924 to 1927, at Clemson University f ...
.
Texas A&M–Commerce
On December 9, 2018, Bailiff was hired as the head coach at
Texas A&M University–Commerce
Texas A&M University–Commerce is a public university in Commerce, Texas. With an enrollment of over 12,000 students as of fall 2017, the university is the third-largest institution in the Texas A&M University System. Founded in 1889, the inst ...
.
He replaced
Colby Carthel
Colby Don Carthel (born August 29, 1976) is an American football coach who is the head coach at Stephen F. Austin State University, a position he has held since December 2018. Colby's first head coaching stint was at Texas A&M University-Commerc ...
, who had been hired at Division I Stephen F. Austin State University. Bailiff was hired mainly due to his familiarity with the Lone Star Conference as a player, his relationship with Texas high school coaches, and having had success at schools that had traditionally not been football powers. Unlike his previous tenures at Rice and Texas State, Bailiff was taking over an A&M-Commerce program that had deep tradition and that was considered by most Division II football observers to be the best Division II program in Texas. In his first season at Texas A&M-Commerce, he led the Lions to an 11-3 record, finishing 2nd in the Lone Star Conference. The Lions went to the NCAA Division II playoffs for the fifth straight season. In the first round, they avenged their only conference loss by defeating # 3 and undefeated
Tarleton State University
Tarleton State University is a public university with its main campus in Stephenville, Texas. It is a founding member of the Texas A&M University System and enrolled over 14,000 students in the fall of 2020.
History
John Tarleton Agricultura ...
, 23-16. In the second round, they defeated Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Champion and previously undefeated
Colorado School of Mines
The Colorado School of Mines, informally called Mines, is a public research university in Golden, Colorado, founded in 1874. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, science, and mathematics, with a focus on en ...
23-3 to send them back to the Region 4 Championship for the second time in 3 years. They were defeated by # 4 Minnesota State-Mankato 42-21 to end their season at 11-3.
After the Lions decided not to compete in football in 2020 amid the
Covid-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, the Lions returned to play in 2021.
During Bailiff's second season, the Lions went 7-4 overall and 5-2 in Lone Star Conference Play. However, the Lions missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
In 2022, the Lions made the transition to Division I as a member of the
Southland Conference
The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it ...
. He stepped down after the 2022 seaso
Head coaching record
References
External links
Texas A&M–Commerce profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailiff, David
1958 births
Living people
American football offensive linemen
New Mexico Lobos football coaches
Rice Owls football coaches
TCU Horned Frogs football coaches
Texas A&M–Commerce Lions football coaches
Texas State Bobcats football coaches
High school football coaches in Texas
Douglas MacArthur High School (San Antonio) alumni
People from New Braunfels, Texas
Coaches of American football from Texas
Players of American football from Dallas