Kent Lex Baer (born May 2, 1951) is an American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

coach. He 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 ...

at the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...

, a position he had held since 2018. Baer served as the interim head football 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 research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

for one game in 2004 and 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 ...

for one game in 2012.

Early life and college years

Born in

Logan, Utah Logan is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The 2020 census recorded the population was 52,778. Logan is the county seat of Cache County and the principal city of the Logan metropolitan area, which includes Cache County and Franklin ...

, Baer graduated from

Sky View High School Sky View High School (SVHS), is located in Smithfield, Utah. Sky View is the northernmost public high school in the state. As part of the Cache County School District, it serves approximately 1,300 students in grades 9 through 12. In addition ...

Smithfield, Utah Smithfield is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The population was 9,495 at the 2010 United States Census, with an estimated population of 12,025 in 2019. It is included in the Logan, Utah-Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the ...

in 1969. Baer then enrolled at

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

. At Utah State, Baer lettered in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

for four years (1969 through 1972) and graduated with a degree in

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

and

recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasur ...

Coaching career

On December 1, 2004, Notre Dame defensive coordinator Baer was named interim head coach after regular head coach

Tyrone Willingham Lionel Tyrone Willingham (born December 30, 1953) is a former American football player and coach. He was the head coach at Stanford University (1995–2001), the University of Notre Dame (2002–2004), and the University of Washington (2005–2 ...

was fired. Notre Dame eventually hired

Charlie Weis Charles Joseph Weis Sr. (born March 30, 1956) is a former American football coach. He was the head coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 2005 to 2009 and the Kansas Jayhawks from 2012 to 2014. He also served as an offensive coordinator in ...

as new head coach starting 2005. Baer was a 2002 finalist for the

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 ...

, given annually to the nation's top college football assistant coach. However, the Fighting Irish gave up 26.4 points per game in Baer's final 26 games on the coaching staff, from the 12th game of the 2002 season through the end of the 2004 season. On January 3, 2005, after Willingham became head coach at

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, Baer joined Willingham's staff as defensive coordinator. At the conclusion of the 2007 season, after a statistically worst defensive season in UW football history, Willingham decided to let Baer go. In the three years at UW, the defense ranked 94, 95 and 98 in total defense, 89, 85 and 94 in scoring defense, and 106, 102 and 85 in passing defense.(1) On April 14, 2008, Baer became defensive coordinator at

San Jose State 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) sy ...

under

Dick Tomey Richard Hastings Tomey (June 20, 1938 – May 10, 2019) was an American football coach and player. Tomey served as the head football coach at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (1977–1986), University of Arizona (1987–2000), and San Jose State ...

. On December 11, 2012, Baer became interim head coach of San Jose State after

Mike MacIntyre George Michael MacIntyre (born March 14, 1965) is an American football coach. He is the head coach at FIU Panthers football, FIU. MacIntyre served as the head football coach at San Jose State University from 2010 to 2013 and the University of C ...

resigned to become head coach at

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. Baer coached the Spartans to a 29-20 victory over

Bowling Green University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...

in the

2012 Military Bowl The 2012 Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman was a post-season American college football bowl game held on December 27, 2012, at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C. The fifth edition of the Military Bowl began at 3:00&n ...

on December 27. MacIntyre announced on December 18 that he would like Baer to join him in Colorado as defensive coordinator. With five other former San Jose State assistants, Baer joined MacIntyre in Colorado on January 3, 2013. First year head coach Tony Sanchez completed his staff at

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

when Baer joined on December 22, 2014 as his defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Following the 2017 football season, Baer was relieved of his duties as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at UNLV, allowing over 31 points per game and over 450 yards to opposing offenses.

Head coaching record

Notes

References

External links

Montana profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baer, Kent 1951 births Living people American football linebackers Arizona State Sun Devils football coaches California Golden Bears football coaches Colorado Buffaloes football coaches Idaho Vandals football coaches Montana Grizzlies football coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches San Jose State Spartans football coaches Stanford Cardinal football coaches UNLV Rebels football coaches Utah State Aggies football players Washington Huskies football coaches Sportspeople from Logan, Utah Players of American football from Utah