Trent Figg is an American college football coach. He is the inaugural head coach for the Calvin University football team and was previously the associate head coach of the defense and defensive backs coach for the

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa The University of Hawaii at Mānoa (University of Hawaii—Mānoa, UH Mānoa, Hawai'i, or simply UH) is a public land-grant research university in Mānoa, a neighborhood in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is the flagship campus of the University of Haw ...

. Figg played college football at

William Jewell College William Jewell College is a private liberal arts college in Liberty, Missouri. It was founded in 1849 by members of the Missouri Baptist Convention and endowed with $10,000 by William Jewell. It was associated with the Missouri Baptist Conventi ...

in Missouri, where he also spent the first 5 years of his coaching career upon graduation. While primarily a defensive coach, he has spent multiple stints on the offensive side of the ball. Besides Hawai'i and William Jewell, Figg has also coached at Missouri State,

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 Southern Arkansas.

Playing career

Figg was a member of the William Jewell Cardinals football team from 2004 to 2007. He spent time at

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

, and outside

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

. He was named an Academic All-American in 2007.

Coaching career

Following his graduation from William Jewell, he joined the Cardinals' coaching staff for the 2008 season as outside linebackers coach and was also put in charge of operations. Figg was named

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

s coach in 2010 and went on to coach linebackers in 2011 and defensive backs in 2012 for the Cardinals. In 2013, Figg spent one year as a defensive graduate assistant for

. The following year, Figg went to Southern Arkansas, where he was named special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach. In 2015, he returned to William Jewell for a second stint; he stayed for two seasons as the defensive coordinator and associate head coach for the Cardinals. After returning to Southern Arkansas for the 2017 season as defensive coordinator, associate head coach, and recruiting coordinator, Figg was hired at Missouri State in 2018. There he served as the special teams coordinator and running backs coach for two seasons. In

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

, he departed to take the chief of staff position with the

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

program. In March 2021, he was promoted to an on-field position as the associate head coach of the defense and defensive backs coach for the Rainbow Warriors. Near the end of the season, Figg was mentioned in a scandal centered around allegations surrounding former Hawai'i head coach

Todd Graham Michael Todd Graham (born December 5, 1964) is an American football coach and former player. He was most recently the head football coach at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (2020–2021). Graham has served as the head football coach at Rice ...

's treatment toward players and football alumni. After Graham announced his resignation and

Timmy Chang Timothy Kealii'okaaina Awa Chang (born October 9, 1981) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is currently the head coach of the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. During his playing career at Hawaii, he set several major college footbal ...

took over as head coach, Figg was not retained. While on the staff during his second stint at William Jewell, Figg was selected to serve as the defensive coordinator for the United States men's national American football team in the

2016 World University American Football Championship The 2016 World University American Football Championship was an international college American football tournament that was held from June 1 to June 11, 2016 in Monterrey, Mexico, at Estadio Tecnológico. It was the 2nd World University Champions ...

, held in Monterrey. The United States finished in second place, with

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

defeating them in the final game to claim the championship. On January 6th 2023 Figg was named the first football coach at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Personal life

Figg was born in

Chillicothe, Missouri Chillicothe is a city in the state of Missouri and the county seat of Livingston County, Missouri, United States. The population was 9,107 at the 2020 census. The name "Chillicothe" is Shawnee for "big town", and was named after their ''Chillico ...

. He attended

, graduating in 2008 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...

and

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

. In 2012, he earned a

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...

educational leadership Educational leadership is the process of enlisting and guiding the talents and energies of teachers, students, and parents toward achieving common educational aims. This term is often used synonymously with school leadership in the United States a ...

from Northwest Missouri State University. Figg and his wife Tori () have three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Figg, Trent Living people William Jewell Cardinals football players William Jewell Cardinals football coaches Arizona State Sun Devils football coaches Southern Arkansas Muleriders football coaches Missouri State Bears football coaches Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football coaches Northwest Missouri State University alumni People from Chillicothe, Missouri Players of American football from Missouri Coaches of American football from Missouri 20th-century American people 21st-century American people Year of birth missing (living people)