Michael John Desormeaux (born September 29, 1985) is an American

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

coach and former player. He is the head football coach at the

University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the s ...

, a position he has held since the final game of the 2021 season. He previously served in various assistant coaching roles at Louisiana from 2016 to 2021, most recently as the co-

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 ...

and tight ends coach in 2021. Desormeaux played

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 ...

at Louisiana as a

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

and

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

from 2004 to 2008, where he ranks in the all-time top ten for passing yards, passing touchdowns, and rushing yards. Desormeaux signed as an undrafted free agent with the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

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) and played for the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). Prior to his tenure at Louisiana, he held various assistant coaching positions at

Catholic High School Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

New Iberia, Louisiana New Iberia (french: La Nouvelle-Ibérie; es, Nueva Iberia) is the largest city in and parish seat of Iberia Parish, Louisiana, Iberia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The city of New Iberia is located approximately southeast of Lafayette, L ...

and

Ascension Episcopal School Ascension Episcopal School (AES), formally known as Ascension Day School (ADS), is a Private school in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana. It was founded in 1959 and consists of three separate campuses consisting of a preschool, an elementary school, ...

Lafayette Parish, Louisiana Lafayette Parish (french: Paroisse de Lafayette) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. According to the 2020 U.S. census, the parish had a population of 241,753, up from 221,578 at the 2010 United States census. The parish seat is ...

Playing career

College

Desormeaux started playing for the Cajuns in his redshirt freshman year in 2005, going 2–2 as a starter. Following his first season, Desormeaux was one of three freshmen to be named to the All-Sun Belt team and was named to the teams Champion Award at the postseason banquet for his outstanding performance in both throwing and rushing in his first season. Going into his second season, Desormeaux played 12 games on special teams, while also seeing time at quarterback, wide receiver, and defensive back. He was named the Cajuns Special Teams Player of the Week in the losing effort against eighth-ranked LSU where he recovered two fumbles. He was named the Cajuns Offensive Player of the Week in the losing effort against Texas A&M where he scored the lone touchdown in an eight-yard rush. Following the season, Desormeaux was named the recipient of the Robert E. Trahan Achievement Team Award for an individual who achieves many accomplishments with the help of his teammates. In his junior and senior years, Desormeaux became the starting quarterback after Jerry Babb's departure. Desormeaux would soon become one of the most famous Cajuns players in history, tying and breaking numerous records, including ranking third for 1,000+ rushing yards in history and finishing 20th for most rushing yards by a quarterback in NCAA history. Throughout his time, Desormeaux was named to numerous lists, including 2005 First-team All-Sun Belt Team, 2006 and 2007 Second-team All-Sun Belt Team, 2005–06, 2006–07, and 2007–08 Sun Belt Conference Commissioner's List.

Professional

Desormeaux was signed as an undrafted free agent by the

on April 26, 2009. After being waived on September 5, Desormeaux was signed to the Jaguars'

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

on September 6. He was released on September 21. Desormeaux signed a practice roster agreement with the

on October 8, 2009.

Coaching career

Early career

Following his retirement from playing professional football, Desormeaux returned home and took over the reigns as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at his alma mater,

where he stayed for four seasons. In 2013, he received the head coaching position at a failing

football program in

Lafayette, LA Lafayette (, ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the most populous city and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, located along the Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's fourth largest incorporated municipality by population and the 234th- ...

where he won 24 games in three seasons and took the Blue Gators to the Division IV state semifinals in 2015. In 2016, Desormeaux joined the

as their wide receivers coach. On December 3, 2017, following the firing of head coach

Mark Hudspeth Mark Douglas Hudspeth (born November 10, 1968) is an American football coach and former player who was most recently the head football coach at Austin Peay State University in 2019. Hudspeth served as the head football coach at University of No ...

during the offseason, Desormeaux was named as interim head coach. On December 15, 2017, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette named

Billy Napier William Hall Napier (born July 21, 1979) is an American football coach currently serving as head coach at the University of Florida. From 2017 until 2021, he served as head coach at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, amassing a 40–12 rec ...

as their new head coach of the Ragin' Cajuns. After Napier was hired, Desormeaux was retained and named assistant head coach and tight ends coach. Following Napier's departure to become the head coach at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

on December 5, 2021, Desormeaux was named interim head coach for the Ragin' Cajuns in the

2021 New Orleans Bowl The 2021 New Orleans Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 18, 2021, with kickoff at 9:15 p.m. EST (8:15 p.m. local CST) and broadcast on ESPN. It was the 21st edition of the New Orleans Bowl, and was one of the 20 ...

to conclude the 2021 season.

Louisiana

2022 season

On December 5, 2021, Desormeaux was named the 27th head coach at the

, replacing

following his departure to become the head coach at the

. The season finished less-than-stellar, with the Cajuns going 6–6 and a surprise visit to the

Independence Bowl The Independence Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually each December at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Independence Bowl ...

Shreveport, LA Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is ...

Personal life

Desormeaux and his wife, Lindsey, have two children, Thomas and Elle. He is a distant cousin of

horse jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual w ...

Kent Desormeaux Kent Jason Desormeaux (born February 27, 1970) is an American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who holds the U.S. record for most races won in a single year with 598 wins in 1989. He has won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes t ...

Head coaching record

College

Notes

References

External links

Louisiana profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Desormeaux, Michael 1985 births Living people American football quarterbacks American football safeties American players of Canadian football Canadian football quarterbacks Calgary Stampeders players Jacksonville Jaguars players Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football coaches Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football players High school football coaches in Louisiana People from New Iberia, Louisiana Coaches of American football from Louisiana Players of American football from Louisiana