Shawn Watson (born September 21, 1959) 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. He is currently the Head Coach at

Wofford College Wofford College is a private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It was founded in 1854. The campus is a national arboretum and one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the America ...

, a position he has held since October 6, 2022 after the resignation of

Josh Conklin Josh Conklin (born June 19, 1979) is an American college football coach. He served as head football coach of Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina from 2018 until midway through the 2022 season. Conklin served as the defensive coordinator ...

. Watson served as the head football coach at

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU or SIUC) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois. Founded in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. The university enrolls students from all 50 s ...

from 1994 to 1996, compiling a record of 11–22. He was 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 Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado syst ...

(2000–2005), the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a public land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the Morrill Act of 1862, the school was known as the Universit ...

(2007–2010), 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 of ...

(2011–2013), and the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

(2017–2018).

Early life

Watson was born in

Carbondale, Illinois Carbondale is a city in Jackson and Williamson Counties, Illinois, United States, within the Southern Illinois region informally known as "Little Egypt". The city developed from 1853 because of the stimulation of railroad construction into the ...

on September 21, 1959, and graduated from Carterville High School in

Carterville, Illinois Carterville is a city in Williamson County, Illinois, United States. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 5,848. The city is part of the Carbondale-Marion combined statistical area and has grown considerably as a residential community o ...

Coaching career

Watson began his

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coaching Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a ''coach'', supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a ''coa ...

career as a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research respons ...

in 1982 at Southern Illinois; the same school where he had completed his playing career. His first full-time position was at the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Universit ...

, where he started as a

for two years beginning in 1983 before promotions to offensive tackles coach,

tight ends coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, assistant coach, and the offensive and defensive coordinators. Common ...

, and

wide receivers coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, assistant coach, and the Offensive coordinator, offensive and Defensive c ...

by 1986. Illinois participated in two bowl games during Watson's time there, including the 1984 Rose Bowl. Beginning in 1987, Watson coached in various positions at

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 10 ...

across seven years, starting as wide receivers coach, and moving through positions as tight ends coach, wide receivers coach and completing his career at Miami in 1993 as quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator. In 1994, Watson obtained his first appointment as a head coach when he was hired to take control of the program where he started his playing and coaching careers; Southern Illinois. SIU had gone 15–29 in the four years prior to Watson's arrival, and his first year was a rough start to his head coaching career as SIU finished 1–10. SIU finished the next two seasons with repeat 5–6 records before Watson moved on, finishing with an overall head coaching record to date of 11–22. During Watson's three-year tenure at SIU he produced 20 all-conference players and an NFL-drafted tight end in

Damon Jones Damon Darron Jones (born August 25, 1976) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who was an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A combo guard, he played college baske ...

. In 1997, Watson was hired by head coach

Gary Barnett Gary Lee Barnett (born May 23, 1946) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Fort Lewis College (1982–1983), Northwestern University (1992–1998), and the University of Colorado at Boulder (1999–2005), ...

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 ...

as quarterbacks coach. When Barnett was later hired as head coach by the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

in 1999, Watson also followed and continued for a year as quarterbacks coach. In 2000, Watson was promoted to

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 Colorado while maintaining his role with the quarterbacks, and remained in that role until Barnett's firing at the conclusion of the 2005 season. In 2006, head coach Bill Callahan hired Watson to the position of tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, and he was subsequently promoted the following year to the same position he had held at Colorado, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. When Callahan was fired at the conclusion of the 2007 season, Watson was one of two members of Callahan's staff that were retained under new Nebraska head coach,

Bo Pelini Mark Anthony "Bo" Pelini (born December 13, 1967) is a former American football coach and former player. He was most recently the defensive coordinator for the Louisiana State University Tigers football team. He is the younger brother of forme ...

. Watson was not retained in a 2011 realignment of assistant coaches at Nebraska, and was subsequently hired as the quarterbacks coach at the

. After a lackluster offensive performance against

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

, offensive coordinator Mike Sanford did not travel with the Cardinals for their next game, against

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 ...

. Watson was named the play-caller for that game.

CBSSports.com CBSSports.com (formerly CBS SportsLine.com and SportsLine USA) is an American sports news website operated by Paramount Streaming, itself a division of Paramount Global. It is the website for CBS's CBS Sports division that features news, highl ...

's Brett McMurphy reported that Sanford had been fired and replaced by Watson. However, ''

The Courier-Journal ''The Courier-Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), is the highest circulation newspaper in Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett and billed as "Part of the ''USA Today'' Ne ...

s Rick Bozich reported that Sanford was still with the team, but may be demoted to a position coach. Bozich later confirmed that Sanford was no longer offensive coordinator. The following Monday, Head Coach Charlie Strong announced that Watson would serve as offensive coordinator for the remainder of the season. Perhaps Watson's trademark game came in the

2013 Sugar Bowl The 2013 Allstate Sugar Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game on Wednesday, January 2, 2013, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The game featured the Florida Gators of the SEC and the Louisville Cardinals of t ...

, where Louisville defeated No. 4 Florida. Louisville's offense, led by quarterback

Teddy Bridgewater Theodore Edmond Bridgewater Jr. (born November 10, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). Born and raised in Miami, Florida, he graduated from Miami Northwestern high school. Br ...

, scored over 30 points and racked up over 330 yards of offense on a top-five Florida defense. On December 12, 2015, the University of Texas announced it would not be extending Watson's contract, thereby ending his tenure as the school's offensive coordinator and quarterback's coach. Watson was hired as offensive quality control coach at Indiana in 2016, and then was promoted to quarterback coach after the resignation of Kevin Wilson. On February 2, 2017, Watson was hired as offensive coordinator at the

. On January 4, 2019, Watson was let go as offensive coordinator. On February 8, 2019, Georgia hired Watson as their offensive quality control coach. On March 19, 2020,

Mark Farley Mark Farley (born April 5, 1963) is an American football coach. He is the head coach at the University of Northern Iowa, a position he has held since 2001. Farley started at inside linebacker at Northern Iowa from 1983 to 1985. He led the team in ...

, head football coach at the

University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI offers more than 90 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and grad ...

, tabbed coaching Watson as a new offensive assistant for the Panthers, joining former Nebraska quarterback Joe Ganz on Northern Iowa's coaching staff.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Wofford profile

Northern Iowa profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Shawn 1959 births Living people American football safeties Colorado Buffaloes football coaches Illinois Fighting Illini football coaches Illinois Fighting Illini football players Indiana Hoosiers football coaches Louisville Cardinals football coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers football coaches Northern Iowa Panthers football coaches Northwestern Wildcats football coaches Miami RedHawks football coaches Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches Southern Illinois Salukis football coaches Southern Illinois Salukis football players Texas Longhorns football coaches Wofford Terriers football coaches People from Carbondale, Illinois People from Carterville, Illinois Coaches of American football from Illinois Players of American football from Illinois