Jeff Quinn (born September 26, 1962) 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 wi ...

coach. He was formerly an assistant coach at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

. Quinn served as the head football coach at the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 18 ...

from 2010 to 2014. He was the 24th head coach in University at Buffalo football history. He replaced

Turner Gill Turner Hillery Gill (born August 13, 1962) is an American college athletic administrator and former gridiron football player and coach. He is the Executive Director of Student-Athlete and Staff Development at the University of Arkansas, a positio ...

who left for

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

following the 2009 season. Quinn served as interim head coach at Central Michigan University in 2006 and at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

in 2009, following the resignation of Brian Kelly in both instances.

Playing career

Quinn graduated from

Elmhurst College Elmhurst University is a private university in Elmhurst, Illinois. It has a tradition of service-oriented learning and an affiliation with the United Church of Christ. The university changed its name from Elmhurst College on July 1, 2020. Hist ...

in 1984 with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

. At Elmhurst, he played both offensive line in football and wrestled as a heavyweight. He was named

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n third team following his senior season. He also won two

College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) is a college athletic conference which competes in the Division III level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). CCIW schools have accounted for 50 national championships i ...

championships as a wrestler and was inducted into Elmhurst's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993.

Coaching career

Quinn has been a college football coach for 26 years, 21 of which have been as an assistant to Brian Kelly at Grand Valley State,

Central Michigan Central Michigan, also called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As its name implies, it is the middle area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said to resemble a mitten, and Mid Michigan cor ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, and Notre Dame. Quinn coached at

DePauw University DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the ...

, where he earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

educational leadership Educational leadership is the process of enlisting and guiding the talents and energies of teachers, students, and parents toward achieving common educational aims. This term is often used synonymously with school leadership in the United States a ...

, and

Ohio Northern University Ohio Northern University (Ohio Northern or ONU) is a private United Methodist Church–affiliated university in Ada, Ohio. Founded by Henry Solomon Lehr in 1871, ONU is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It offers over 60 programs to ...

before moving on to Grand Valley State. Quinn followed Kelly to Central Michigan, then followed him again to Cincinnati, where he served as the offensive coordinator and

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numb ...

coach. Quinn was a finalist for the 2009

Broyles Award The Broyles Award is an annual award given to honor the best assistant coach in college football. First awarded in 1996, it was named after former University of Arkansas men's athletic director Frank Broyles. The award is presented in Little R ...

, an award given to college football's best assistant coach. He served as an interim head coach for the

2006 Motor City Bowl The 2006 Motor City Bowl, part of the 2006–07 NCAA football bowl games season, occurred on December 26, 2006, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The Central Michigan Chippewas beat the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 31–14. References M ...

(which he coached for Central Michigan after Kelly left for the head coaching job at Cincinnati) and the

2010 Sugar Bowl The 2010 Allstate Sugar Bowl was an American college football bowl game that was part of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) for the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season and was the 76th Sugar Bowl. The Florida Gators defeated the Cincinna ...

(which he coached for Cincinnati after Kelly left for Notre Dame). In December 2009, Quinn was tapped to replace

for the

. After coaching Cincinnati to a loss in the Sugar Bowl Quinn officially began his duties as a head coach. Quinn led the Bulls to their second bowl game in the team's history, they lost the

2013 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl The 2013 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl was an American college football bowl game that was played on December 21, 2013 at Bronco Stadium on the campus of Boise State University in Boise, Idaho. The seventeenth annual Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, it featu ...

. After a mediocre start in the 2014 season Quinn was relieved of his duties. Hired by Brian Kelly in 2015, he was an assistant coach for the Notre Dame football team until 2021.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Notre Dame profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quinn, Jeff 1962 births Living people American football offensive linemen Buffalo Bulls football coaches Central Michigan Chippewas football coaches Cincinnati Bearcats football coaches DePauw Tigers football coaches Elmhurst Bluejays football players Grand Valley State Lakers football coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches Ohio Northern Polar Bears football coaches