Larry Coyer (born April 19, 1943) is a former
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. He served as 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 ...
for the
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL) from 2009 to 2011. Prior to the Colts, he was the assistant
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
for the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...
and defensive coordinator for the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...
and
New Mexico State
New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...
.
Playing career and high school coaching
Coyer was an outstanding player at Barboursville High School in
Barboursville, West Virginia
Barboursville is a village in Cabell County, West Virginia. It is located near the second largest city in the state, Huntington. The population was 4,258 in the 2019 census estimate. Barboursville is a part of the Huntington–Ashland metropolit ...
during the late 1950s
A 1964 graduate of
Marshall University
Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States.
The university is currently composed of nine colleges: L ...
, Coyer is a member of the Football Hall of Fame at Marshall for his achievements as a player. He began his coaching career at his alma mater in 1965 as secondary coach, a position he maintained through 1967. An additional coaching stint came at the acclaimed
Massillon Washington High School
Washington High School, commonly referred to as Massillon High School or Massillon Washington High School, is a 9th to 12th grade secondary school within the Massillon City School District in the city of Massillon, Ohio, United States.
The schoo ...
, where NFL Legend Paul Brown once coached.
Denver Broncos
In his 42nd year of coaching on either the collegiate or professional level, Coyer began his Broncos coaching career as the club's linebackers coach from 2000 to 2002 before he was promoted to defensive coordinator. Larry Coyer entered his seventh, and final, season on the Denver Broncos' coaching staff in 2006 and his fourth in the role of defensive coordinator.
Coyer's defense consistently ranked among the NFL's most productive during his three seasons as the Broncos' defensive coordinator and helped the club advance to the playoffs each year. The Broncos placed in the league's top-7 in run defense in every year under Coyer and allowed an average of 93.3 rushing yards per game between 2003 and 2006 (ranking second in the NFL during that period).
Denver also ranked among the league's best teams in overall defense under Coyer, posting consecutive top-4 NFL rankings in yards-per-game allowed from 2003–04 and placing fourth in the league (289.5 ypg.) in that category for the period 2003-2006. In addition, the Broncos surrendered an average of 18.0 points per game between 2003 and 2006 to rank fifth in the NFL in scoring defense with Coyer at the helm. Coyer's defense was instrumental in the Broncos going 13-3 in 2005 and advancing to the AFC Championship Game. Denver, which, in 2005, sent cornerback Champ Bailey, safety John Lynch and linebacker Al Wilson to the Pro Bowl, ranked second in the NFL in run defense (85.2 ypg.) and posted the third-best such mark in franchise history. The Broncos allowed only 16.1 points per game to tie for third in the NFL and surrendered a total of 37 points in their final four games (9.3 ppg.) en route to capturing the AFC West title.
Coyer began his Broncos coaching career as their linebackers coach from 2000-02. In Coyer's first year instructing Denver's linebackers in 2000, John Mobley and fellow linebacker Bill Romanowski finished first and second on the team in tackles (133 and 121) while Wilson ranked fourth (104).
In his first year as the Broncos' defensive coordinator in 2003, Denver's defense allowed an average of only 277.1 yards per game. The team ranked fourth in the NFL, and earned its first postseason berth since 2000. Coyer, who also instructed the team's linebackers, worked closely with Wilson during his Pro Bowl season that saw him lead the Broncos in tackles (128) for the second consecutive year.
In 2004, Coyer's defense featured two Pro Bowl selections: Lynch and Bailey, who also earned the first All-Pro nomination of his career after joining the Broncos in an offseason trade. Coyer aided in the development of rookie linebacker D.J. Williams, who became only the second Broncos rookie and the first in 32 years to lead the team in tackles (114). Along the way, Williams was the only 2004 rookie to be named AFC Defensive Player of the Week (Wk. 16) and finished No. 3 in the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year voting.
On January 8, 2007, Coyer was released from the Denver Broncos after the 2006 season. His release was the result of a defensive meltdown in the second half of the season. On January 18, 2007 the Bucs hired him as their defensive line coach.
USFL coaching
Coyer's other professional coaching experience came in the United States Football League as linebackers coach with the
Michigan Panthers
The Michigan Panthers were a professional American football team based in the Detroit, Michigan area. The Panthers competed in the United States Football League (USFL) as a member of the Western Conference and Central Division. The team played i ...
(1983–84) and defensive coordinator with the
Memphis Showboats
The Memphis Showboats were an American football franchise in the United States Football League. They entered the league in its expansion in 1984 and made the 1985 playoffs, losing in the semifinal round to the Oakland Invaders. Perhaps the mo ...
(1985–86). Coyer helped Michigan capture the inaugural USFL championship in 1983 with a win against Philadelphia in a game played at Mile High Stadium in Denver.
NCAA coaching
Coyer was the defensive coordinator in 1993 at
East Carolina
East Carolina University (ECU) is a public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina.
Founded on March 8, 1907, as a teacher training school, East Carolina has grown from its orig ...
, where under his guidance the Pirates improved in virtually every defensive category. He also served as defensive backs coach at
Ohio State
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...
(1991–92), assistant head coach/defensive backs coach at
Houston
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 ...
(1990) and linebackers coach at
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
(1987–89). Coyer was also defensive coordinator at Memphis State (1986)
Iowa State
Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...
(1979–82),
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...
(1978) and
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the 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: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
(1974–77) after serving as defensive backs coach at
Bowling Green
A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls.
Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on ...
(1968–73).
Before his stint at Pittsburgh, Coyer was defensive coordinator at Iowa State University for two seasons (1995–96). That post was preceded by a one-year assignment as defensive line coach for the New York Jets in 1994.
While at
Pitt (1997–99) as its defensive coordinator, Coyer directed a defensive unit that showed significant improvement each season, culminating in a 1999 showing that included top-5 rankings in the
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and M ...
in all major defensive statistical categories. Two of his standouts, safety Ramon Walker and defensive lineman Demond Gibson, earned All-Big East Conference honors that season. In 1998, the Panthers ranked third in the Big East in total defense, and over the course of the 1997-98 seasons, the unit amassed 62 sacks, the highest two-season total at Pittsburgh since 1990-91.
In February 2014, Coyer was hired as the defensive coordinator for
New Mexico State
New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...
.
Larry Coyer named NM State’s Defensive Coordinatorr
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See also
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coyer, Larry
1943 births
Living people
American football defensive backs
American football return specialists
Bowling Green Falcons football coaches
Coaches of American football from West Virginia
Denver Broncos coaches
East Carolina Pirates football coaches
High school football coaches in Ohio
Houston Cougars football coaches
Indianapolis Colts coaches
Iowa Hawkeyes football coaches
Iowa State Cyclones football coaches
Marshall Thundering Herd football coaches
Marshall Thundering Herd football players
Marshall Thundering Herd wrestlers
New Mexico State Aggies football coaches
New York Jets coaches
Ohio State Buckeyes football coaches
Oklahoma State Cowboys football coaches
Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches
Players of American football from West Virginia
Sportspeople from Huntington, West Virginia
Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches
United States Football League coaches
UCLA Bruins football coaches
Washington Redskins scouts