Ron English (American football)
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Ronald Everett English (born May 21, 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 wi ...
coach and former player. He is currently the defensive coordinator for the
Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...
. English also served as the head football coach at
Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...
from 2009 to 2013, compiling a record of 11–46.


Playing career and education

From 1987 to 1990, English played college football at the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
. He graduated in 1991 with a degree in communications. In 1995, he received his
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.
in education administration from Arizona State University.


Coaching career


Assistant coach (1992–2008)

English has served as an assistant coach at Mt. San Antonio College, Northern Arizona University,
San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...
, Arizona State University, 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 ...
, and
University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one o ...
. He coached the defensive secondary at Michigan from 2003 through 2005. In February 2006, he accepted a position on the coaching staff of the NFL's Chicago Bears. However, Michigan 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 ...
persuaded English to stay on as the defensive coordinator after
Jim Herrmann James Herrmann (born December 8, 1960) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the defensive coordinator for the San Antonio Brahmas of the XFL and was recently the defensive coordinator for the New York Guardians of ...
, who coordinated Michigan's defense from 1997 to 2005, accepted a position with the NFL's New York Jets. In the 2006 season, English coached only
safeties Safety is the condition of being protected against harmful conditions or events, or the control of hazards to reduce risk. Safety may also refer to: Places * Safety Island, Antarctica Government * The Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating t ...
, rather than the entire defensive secondary, to allow him to concentrate more fully on his responsibilities as defensive coordinator. English's defense showed great success against most run-heavy teams in the
Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
and allowed the fewest rushing yards per game in the nation. With Carr's retirement at the end of the 2007 season, English, along with all of the assistant coaches at Michigan except for running backs coach Fred Jackson, was fired by incoming head coach
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 Un ...
. English interviewed for the head coaching vacancies at the
University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...
and at Michigan before accepting the defensive coordinator duties for Steve Kragthorpe at the
University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one o ...
.


Eastern Michigan (2009–2013)

English was hired as head coach at
Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...
in December 2008. At the time of his hiring by Eastern Michigan, he was one of six African American head coaches at Football Bowl Subdivision teams; the others (and their teams at the time) were
Turner Gill Turner Hillery Gill (born August 13, 1962) is an American college athletic administrator and former gridiron football player and coach. He is the Executive Director of Student-Athlete and Staff Development at the University of Arkansas, a positio ...
( Buffalo),
Kevin Sumlin Kevin Warren Sumlin (born August 3, 1964) is an American football coach who is the head coach and general manager for the Houston Gamblers of the United States Football League (USFL). Sumlin served as the head football coach at the University o ...
(
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 i ...
),
Mike Locksley Michael Anthony Locksley (born December 25, 1969) is an American football coach. Locksley is currently the head coach at the Maryland Terrapins football, University of Maryland. After serving as an assistant coach for several college football ...
(
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
), Randy Shannon (
University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...
), and Mike Haywood (
Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...
) . Eastern Michigan compiled a 0–12 record in 2009. An article on ''
ESPN.com ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc. History Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including ...
'' ranked the Eagles the second-worst team in NCAA FBS football. The Eagles posted a 2–10 record in 2010, English's second season as head coach, losing all four non-conference games and stretching their losing streak to 18 games before winning an overtime game at Ball State and another game at Buffalo in the latter part of the season. 2011 saw the Eagles achieve their best season in 17 years. They finished the season 6–6, 4–4 in MAC play to finish in a tie for fourth place in the West Division. Despite being 6–6, the Eagles were not bowl eligible because two of their wins came against FCS teams. The 6 wins were the most wins the school had since 1995 when they also had 6 wins. Following the season, English was named the Mid American Conference Coach of the Year. Following the success of the 2011 season, media outlets speculated that English could be a candidate for head coaching openings at BCS schools. Based on his west coast recruiting background and Big Ten coaching experience, the schools most often mentioned were
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
,
Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...
, and
Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...
. English returned to the Eagles as head coach for the 2012 season. Eastern Michigan posted a 2–10 record in 2012, with their wins coming against
Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
(48–38) and
Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Pen ...
(29–23). EMU faced a difficult schedule, with 7 losses to teams that participated in a post season bowl game. Additionally, the Eagles lost to ( FCS) #14 ranked
Illinois State Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...
by a score of 31–14 in the second week of the season. English was abruptly fired on November 8, 2013 — less than 24 hours before the Eagles' game against Western Michigan. Later that day, ''
The Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on Februar ...
'' revealed that English had been fired after school officials obtained a tape of a tirade English delivered to his team during an October team meeting. The speech was laden with expletives ("shitbird" was especially plentiful), and included at least one homophobic slur. On November 9, athletic director
Heather Lyke Heather Lyke is the athletic director at the University of Pittsburgh. She was previously the athletic director and vice president at Eastern Michigan University, and has also served in administrative roles at Ohio State University and the Univer ...
confirmed the existence of the tape and condemned it as "wholly inappropriate" and "absolutely unacceptable." English subsequently apologized, admitting that he had "lost my poise," but hoped to be able to coach again.


Career after Eastern Michigan (2014–present)

In 2014, English joined the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
' internship program under a Bill Walsh NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship. English also spent more time with his family and in church. English returned to coaching on February 9, 2016 as 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 Ron Caragher. On February 2, 2017, English joined
Dan Mullen Dan Mullen (born April 27, 1972) is a former college football player and coach, and current television analyst with the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and ESPN. He served as the head football coach at Mississippi State University from 2 ...
's staff at
Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...
as safeties coach.


Head coaching record


References


External links


Purdue profile

Eastern Michigan profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:English, Ron 1968 births Living people American football safeties Arizona State Sun Devils football coaches California Golden Bears football players Eastern Michigan Eagles football coaches Florida Gators football coaches Louisville Cardinals football coaches Michigan Wolverines football coaches Mississippi State Bulldogs football coaches Mt. SAC Mounties football coaches Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football coaches Purdue Boilermakers football coaches San Diego State Aztecs football coaches San Jose State Spartans football coaches High school football coaches in California Players of American football from Pomona, California Coaches of American football from California African-American coaches of American football African-American players of American football 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople