Ruffin Horne McNeill Jr. (born October 8, 1958) 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 and former player who currently serves as the special assistant to the head coach at

NC State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

. He previously served as the assistant head coach and outside linebackers coach at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

and the assistant head coach and defensive line coach at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. McNeill also served as the head coach of the

East Carolina Pirates The East Carolina Pirates are the athletic teams that represent East Carolina University (ECU), located in Greenville, North Carolina. All varsity-level sports teams participate at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division ...

from 2010 to 2015. Before being named head coach of the Pirates, McNeill served the

Texas Tech Red Raiders The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas. The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders, while the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raide ...

as an interim head coach, assistant head coach, special teams coordinator, and linebackers coach. On December 28, 2009, he was named interim head coach of the Red Raiders following the suspension and later firing of head coach Mike Leach. He served in the position until the hiring of

Tommy Tuberville Thomas Hawley Tuberville ( ; born September 18, 1954) is an American retired college football coach and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Alabama since 2021. Before entering politics, Tuberville was the head football co ...

, who subsequently released him as defensive coordinator.

Playing career

McNeill was a

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 ...

for the

for four years under then head coach

Pat Dye Patrick Fain Dye (November 6, 1939 – June 1, 2020) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at East Carolina University (1974–1979), the University of Wyoming (1980), ...

. For three of his years at ECU he was a starter, and for two he served as team captain. In his first year with the Pirates, McNeill helped

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 ...

to the 1976

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly ...

Championship and a berth 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 ...

two years later. McNeill graduated from East Carolina University in 1980.Player Bio: Ruffin McNeill
/ref> He later went on to Clemson where he earned a master's degree in counseling.

Coaching career

In addition to coaching at the high school level and spending a summer as an intern with the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

under Jimmy Johnson, McNeill has coached 23 seasons at the college level, including seven seasons at Appalachian State, his first job as defensive coordinator. In total, he has been on the coaching staffs at Clemson, Austin Peay State,

North Alabama North Alabama is a region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Several geographic definitions for the area exist, with all descriptions including the nine counties of Alabama's Tennessee Valley region. The North Alabama Industrial Development Associ ...

, Appalachian State,

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes th ...

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

, and

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

Texas Tech

McNeill began his tenure at

in 2000 as a linebackers coach. In 2003, he accepted the role of assistant head coach as well as taking duties of linebackers coach. In 2007, then-defensive coordinator

Lyle Setencich Lyle Setencich (born June 4, 1945) is a former American football player and coach. He was the head coach at Boise State University from 1983 to 1986 and at California Polytechnic State University from 1987 to 1993, compiling a career college footb ...

stepped down due to "personal reasons" after a 49–45 loss to

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 ...

in which the Texas Tech defense allowed over 600 yards of total offense and three 100 yard rushers.Ruffin McNeill named Defensive Coordinator
/ref> Head coach Mike Leach named McNeill interim defensive coordinator shortly after with eight games remaining in the season. On December 28, 2009, Leach was suspended, and fired two days later, by Texas Tech University over the alleged inappropriate treatment of an injured player. McNeill was named interim head coach and led the team to a 41–31 victory over the

Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and wh ...

in the 2010 Alamo Bowl before being replaced as head coach by

. On January 13, 2010, McNeill was removed from the Texas Tech coaching staff by Tuberville and replaced with James Willis.

Defensive improvements

With McNeill at the defensive helm, the Red Raiders' defense improved in every defensive category. Under Setencich, Tech ranked seventh in pass defense, ninth in total defense, and tenth in scoring defense in

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

play. In nine games with McNeill, Tech improved to first in pass and total defense and fourth in scoring defense. The Red Raiders forced more punts and allowed fewer rushing and passing yards than they did to begin the season.Ruffin McNeill improved Tech defense, rewarded with D-coordinator position
/ref> These vast improvements in the defense led Leach to drop the interim tag and make McNeill the full-time defensive coordinator.

East Carolina

On January 21, 2010 it was announced that Ruffin McNeill would be named head football coach at his alma mater, East Carolina, replacing

Skip Holtz Louis Leo "Skip" Holtz Jr. (born March 12, 1964) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Birmingham Stallions of the United States Football League (USFL). Previously, he was the head coach for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (201 ...

, who had recently left for the head coaching job at the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is ...

. After seasons of 6-7 and 5-7, in 2012 East Carolina posted an 8-5 record which included an appearance in the

New Orleans Bowl The New Orleans Bowl is an NCAA-sanctioned post-season college football bowl game that has been played annually since 2001. It is normally held at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans; when the Superdome and the rest of the city suffered damage due to ...

. In 2013, McNeill's Pirates posted the second-most wins in school history, going 10-3 including a win over

Ohio University Ohio University is a Public university, public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confeder ...

in the 2013 Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl. The season also included wins over in-state rivals

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

North Carolina State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

. In 2014, however, most felt the Pirates underachieved, marking an 8-5 record and losing 4 out of their last 6 games. On December 4, 2015, McNeill was relieved of his duties as head coach after finishing the season with a record of 5-7.

Oklahoma

McNeill was named the assistant head coach and defensive tackles coach at the

on June 14, 2017. He was named interim defensive coordinator on October 8, 2018 replacing the fired

Mike Stoops Michael Joseph Stoops (born December 13, 1961) is an American football coach and former player, who is the Linebacker, inside linebackers coach at the University of Kentucky. Stoops also served as the head football coach at the University of Ariz ...

. With the hiring of Alex Grinch as the defensive coordinator in January 2019, McNeill was retained on the OU staff as assistant head coach and outside linebackers coach. McNeill resigned from Oklahoma at the conclusion of the 2019 season.

NC State

McNeill was announced as the special assistant to head coach Dave Doeren at

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

on July 7, 2020.

Personal

McNeill and his wife, Erlene, have two daughters, Olivia and Renata, one grandchild Isabella and a brother Reggie. McNeill is a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity.

Head coaching record

*Coached bowl game after Mike Leach was fired

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McNeill, Ruffin 1958 births Living people American football defensive backs Appalachian State Mountaineers football coaches Austin Peay Governors football coaches Clemson Tigers football coaches East Carolina Pirates football coaches East Carolina Pirates football players Fresno State Bulldogs football coaches North Alabama Lions football coaches Oklahoma Sooners football coaches Texas Tech Red Raiders football coaches Virginia Cavaliers football coaches UNLV Rebels football coaches Clemson University alumni African-American coaches of American football African-American players of American football 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople