Mike DeBord (born February 7, 1956) 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 who was most recently the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...

at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

. He was previously the offensive coordinator of the

San Diego Fleet The San Diego Fleet was a professional American football franchise based in San Diego, California, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019, with the team playing its home game ...

of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan are ...

(AAF), and was the associate head coach and

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

prior to joining the AAF. DeBord was the head football coach at

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...

from 2000 to 2003, compiling a record of 12–34. He worked as an assistant coach at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

for a total of 11 seasons, from 1993 to 1999 and again from 2004 to 2007. He was the

for the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

for five seasons (1997–1999, 2006–2007) including Michigan's 1997 campaign, in which the team won part of a

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

. DeBord has also worked as an assistant coach in 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), with the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

(2008–2009) and the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

(2010–2012).

Playing career

DeBord graduated from Wes-Del High School in

Delaware County, Indiana Delaware County is a County (United States), county in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 111,903. The county seat is Muncie, Indiana, Muncie. Delaware County is part of the Muncie, IN metropoli ...

. He started for four years on the offensive line at

Manchester College Manchester College might refer to: England * Manchester College, a former name of Harris Manchester College, Oxford *Manchester Metropolitan University, formerly Manchester Polytechnic, formed in 1977 by a merger between Manchester College of Art ...

, receiving all-conference, all-district and honorable mention NAIA All-America honors during the 1977 season when he was captain. DeBord later 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.

from Ball State in 1981. He was inducted into the

Indiana Football Hall of Fame The Indiana Football Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in Richmond, Indiana. It honors persons associated with high school, college and professional American football in Indiana. It also works to establish scholarships and endowments ...

in 1995.

Coaching career

Early years

In 1982, DeBord embarked on a coaching career that included stops at Franklin College,

Fort Hays State University Fort Hays State University (FHSU) is a public university in Hays, Kansas. It is the fourth-largest of the six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents, with a total enrollment of approximately 15,100 students. History FHSU ...

Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...

Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State, State or BSU) is a public university, public research university in Muncie, Indiana. It has two satellite facilities in Fishers, Indiana, Fishers and Indianapolis. On July 25, 1917, the Ball brothers, indust ...

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

and

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

before joining the Michigan staff under head coach

Gary Moeller Gary Oscar Moeller (; January 26, 1941 – July 11, 2022) was an American football coach best known for being head coach at the University of Michigan from 1990 to 1994. During his five seasons at Michigan, he won 44 games, lost 13 and tied 3 f ...

First stint at Michigan

At Michigan, he served as offensive line coach from 1992 to 1996. In 1997, he was promoted to offensive coordinator. During DeBord's first year as offensive coordinator in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

, Michigan won their first

since 1948.

Central Michigan

DeBord was hired as the head football coach at Central Michigan by athletic director

Herb Deromedi Herb Deromedi (born May 26, 1939) is a retired American football coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Central Michigan University from 1978 to 1993, compiling a record of 110–55–10. His 110 wins re ...

in 2000. He would go on to post a 12–34 record, resigning after the 2003 season. DeBord never won more than four games in a season in his time at Central Michigan.

Assistant coach

Return to Michigan

DeBord rejoined the Wolverines in 2004 as special teams and recruiting coordinator for head coach

Lloyd Carr Lloyd Henry Carr Jr. (born July 30, 1945) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Michigan from 1995 through the 2007 season. Under Carr, the Michigan Wolverines compiled a record ...

, taking over the role filled by the retiring Bobby Morrison. DeBord served in that capacity for two seasons before succeeding

Terry Malone Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence or Terrier (masculine). People Male * Terry Albritton (1955–2005), Ame ...

as offensive coordinator and tight ends coach in 2006. Malone had previously replaced DeBord when DeBord took the head coaching job at Central Michigan in 2000. DeBord was a candidate for the head coaching position at Michigan following the retirement of

in 2007. The job ultimately went to

Rich Rodriguez Richard Alan Rodriguez (; born May 24, 1963), also known as Rich Rod, is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at Jacksonville State University. Rodriguez previously was the head football coach at Salem Uni ...

, who fired all Michigan assistant coaches except running backs coach Fred Jackson. As the offensive coordinator at Michigan, DeBord posted a 52–11 regular season record and a post season record of 4–1.

NFL

On March 5, 2008, the Seattle Seahawks announced that DeBord had been hired as the assistant offensive line coach. DeBord was promoted to tight end coach for the 2009 season. On February 2, 2010, the Chicago Bears announced DeBord as their new tight ends coach, after coming to terms for the 2010 season. DeBord was dismissed by new head coach

Marc Trestman Marc Marlyn Trestman (born January 15, 1956) is an American football and Canadian football coach. He led the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) to back-to-back Grey Cup victories in 2009 and 2010, and another as head coach ...

on January 17, 2013.

Tennessee

On February 5, 2015, DeBord was hired by Tennessee head coach Butch Jones as offensive coordinator, replacing

Mike Bajakian Mike Bajakian is an American football coach who currently serves as the offensive coordinator for Northwestern University. Bajakian previously served as the quarterbacks coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and as the offensive coordinator at Te ...

, who left to become quarterbacks coach 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 ...

. Jones had previously worked under DeBord as an assistant coach at Central Michigan. On January 3, 2017, it was announced that DeBord would be leaving Tennessee to become the offensive coordinator for Indiana.

Indiana

On January 4, 2017, Indiana head coach Tom Allen hired DeBord as offensive coordinator, replacing

Kevin Johns Kevin Johns (born December 4, 1975) is an American football coach. He is the offensive coordinator at Duke University, a position he has held since January 2022. Previously, Johns served in the same role at Indiana University Bloomington, Weste ...

, who departed the position for offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach with the

Western Michigan Broncos The Western Michigan Broncos are a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I program representing Western Michigan University (WMU) in college athletics. They compete in the Mid-American Conference in men's baseball, basketball ...

. On December 30, 2018, DeBord announced his retirement from football.

San Diego Fleet

In January 2019,

offensive coordinator

Jon Kitna Jon Kelly Kitna (born September 21, 1972) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Central Washington ...

departed the team to become quarterbacks coach of the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. To take his place, the Fleet hired DeBord, reuniting him with Fleet head coach and former Bears colleague

Mike Martz Michael Martz (born May 13, 1951) is an American football coach. Best known for his coaching tenure with the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League (NFL), he served as the offensive coordinator for the Rams' Greatest Show on Turf offens ...

Third stint at Michigan

DeBord rejoined the Michigan football team on March 4, 2020 as an offensive analyst under head coach

Jim Harbaugh James Joseph Harbaugh (; born December 23, 1963) is an American football coach and former quarterback, who is the current and 20th head football coach of the Michigan Wolverines. He played college football at Michigan from 1983 to 1986. He play ...

Kansas

DeBord was hired as the offensive coordinator 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 the ...

on February 2, 2021. He was not retained when

Les Miles Leslie Edwin Miles (born November 10, 1953) is a former American football coach. He most recently served as the head coach at Kansas. His head coaching career began with the Oklahoma State Cowboys, where he coached from 2001 to 2004. Following t ...

was fired in March and replaced by Buffalo head coach

Lance Leipold Lance Leipold ( ; born May 6, 1964) is an American college football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Kansas since 2021. Leipold served as the head football coach at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater (UWW) fro ...

Sports administration

On February 1, 2013, DeBord was hired by Michigan athletic director

Dave Brandon David Allen Brandon (born May 15, 1952) is an American businessman. He is the former chief executive officer of Toys "R" Us. From 1999 to 2009, he served as the president and chief executive officer of Domino's, and from 2010 to 2014, he was th ...

to be the sports administrator for the school's Olympic sports teams. In this role he works with the field hockey, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's gymnastics, men's and women's track and field, and men's and women's tennis programs.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Debord, Mike 1956 births Living people American football offensive linemen Ball State Cardinals football coaches Central Michigan Chippewas football coaches Colorado State Rams football coaches Chicago Bears coaches Eastern Illinois Panthers football coaches Fort Hays State Tigers football coaches Franklin Grizzlies football coaches Indiana Hoosiers football coaches Manchester Spartans football players Michigan Wolverines football coaches Northwestern Wildcats football coaches San Diego Fleet coaches Seattle Seahawks coaches Tennessee Volunteers football coaches Sportspeople from Muncie, Indiana Coaches of American football from Indiana Players of American football from Indiana