Phil Longo (born April 17, 1968) 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 is currently the offensive coordinator for the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisi ...

. A practitioner of the

air raid offense In American football the air raid offense refers to an offensive scheme popularized by such coaches as Mike Leach, Hal Mumme, Sonny Dykes, and Tony Franklin during their tenures at Iowa Wesleyan University, Valdosta State, Kentucky, Oklahoma, ...

, he was previously the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

and Ole Miss.

Early life and playing career

Born in

Red Bank, New Jersey Red Bank is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. Incorporated in 1908, the community is on the Navesink River, the area's original transportation route to the ocean and other ports. Red Bank is in the New York Metropolitan A ...

and raised in the Bayville section of

Berkeley Township, New Jersey Berkeley Township is a township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the township population had increased to 41,255, reflecting an increase of 1,264 (+3.2%) from the 39,991 counted in the 2000 Census ...

, Longo played

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 ...

Central Regional High School Central Regional High School is a four-year regional comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in the Bayville section of Berkeley Township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States, operating ...

Coaching career

Longo began his coaching career at

Parsippany Hills High School Parsippany Hills High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in the township of Parsippany-Troy Hills, in Morris County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grade as one of the two secondary s ...

in New Jersey, taking over a team that accumulated a .217 winning percentage over the previous 33 years. At the time of his departure, Longo left as the winningest coach in school history while leading them to their first appearance in the New Jersey state playoffs and an undefeated championship season. He accepted an assistant coaching position at William Paterson as the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator in 2000. He left in 2002 to be the associate head coach and offensive coordinator at La Salle, and was named the head coach of the team in 2004. As head coach of La Salle, he compiled a 7–14 record over two years before leaving to accept the offensive coordinator position at Minnesota–Duluth. He joined the coaching staff at

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern United States, Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of th ...

in 2008 as the offensive coordinator. Longo joined the coaching staff at

Youngstown State Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio. The university is composed of six undergraduate colleges an ...

in 2010 as the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator. Longo joined the coaching staff at Slippery Rock in 2011 as the wide receivers coach, where his wife Tanya worked as the head coach of the university's women's basketball team. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2012, and the team underwent a dramatic change in offense averaging 54.5 points a game.

Sam Houston State

Longo was added to the coaching staff at

Sam Houston State Sam Houston State University (SHSU or Sam) is a public university in Huntsville, Texas. It was founded in 1879 and is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools west of the Mississippi River and ...

in 2014. In his final year at Sam Houston State, Longo's offense was one of the most prolific offenses in FCS, averaging 547 yards a game as the Bearkats went on to a 12–1 record.

Ole Miss

On December 15, 2016, it was reported that Longo was hired to be the new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

. Despite averaging over 500 yards of offense per game, his offense was criticized for its inability to score in the red zone and in clutch moments.

North Carolina

Longo was named the offensive coordinator at

in 2019. In his first three seasons as Tar Heel OC, Longo guided quarterback

Sam Howell Sam Howell (born September 16, 2000) is an American football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Carolina, setting school records for most touchdown passes in a si ...

to multiple school records, and his offense produced multiple 1,000 yard receivers and rushers.

Wisconsin

On December 7th, 2022, it was reported that Longo would be joining Luke Fickell's staff at Wisconsin as the offensive coordinator and QB's coach.

Coaching philosophy

A practitioner of the

, Longo chose to adopt the offensive system after meeting then-

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

offensive coordinator Mike Leach at a coaching clinic in the late 1990s. Unlike the standard air raid offense that is pass-heavy, Longo's offense is designed so that it can be both pass or run oriented, and it's not decided which it is until the game.

Personal life

Longo and his wife, Tanya, have four children.

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

*
North Carolina profile

Ole Miss profile

Slippery Rock profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Longo, Phil 1968 births Living people American football quarterbacks American football running backs East Stroudsburg Warriors football players La Salle Explorers football coaches Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs football coaches North Carolina Tar Heels football coaches Ole Miss Rebels football coaches Rowan Profs football players Sam Houston State Bearkats football coaches Slippery Rock football coaches Southern Illinois Salukis football coaches William Paterson Pioneers football coaches Wisconsin Badgers football coaches Youngstown State Penguins football coaches High school football coaches in New Jersey Central Regional High School alumni People from Berkeley Township, New Jersey People from Red Bank, New Jersey Sportspeople from Ocean County, New Jersey Coaches of American football from New Jersey Players of American football from New Jersey