Nathan Troy Calhoun (born September 26, 1966) 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. He is the head football coach at the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Uni ...

, a position he has held since the 2007 season.

Early life and playing career

Calhoun was born in

McMinnville, Oregon McMinnville is the county seat of and largest city in Yamhill County, Oregon, United States. The city is named after McMinnville, Tennessee. As of the 2019 census, the city had a population estimate of 34,743. McMinnville is at the confluence of ...

in 1966, although his family moved to

Roseburg, Oregon Roseburg is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is in the Umpqua River, Umpqua River Valley in southern Oregon and is the county seat and most populous city of Douglas County, Oregon, Douglas County. Founded in 1851, the population was 23,683 a ...

when Calhoun was just three years old. Calhoun attended

Roseburg High School Roseburg High School is a public high school in Roseburg, Oregon, United States. Campus The campus is roughly and contains seven main buildings as well as a track and an artificial turf football field. Completed in 1926, the "Heritage Buildin ...

, where he played football under longtime Roseburg coach Thurman Bell. Along with Bell, Calhoun also counts Dayton High coach Dewey Sullivan—a Calhoun family friend—as an early influence. Calhoun joined the Air Force Academy in 1985, becoming one of just two freshmen to letter on the 1985 Falcons team that finished 12–1.

Coaching career

Assistant coaching

After graduating from the

in 1989, Calhoun served on the Air Force coaching staff under

Fisher DeBerry James Fisher DeBerry (born June 8, 1938) is a retired American football player. He served as the head football coach at the United States Air Force Academy from 1984 to 2006, compiling a record of 169–109–1. DeBerry led 17 of his 23 Air Forc ...

as a graduate assistant during the 1989–90 seasons. After serving out his military commitment, he went on to serve as the Falcons' recruiting coordinator and the junior varsity offensive coordinator over the 1993–94 seasons. MountainWestMD-2016-0726-TroyCalhoun

In 1995, he moved to

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 ...

where he served as the quarterbacks coach for two seasons, and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 1997. During his first season with

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, his offense had measurable success, particularly in a game against

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 which the school totaled 612 yards, second most in school history. The team also captured a win against

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

in 1997, which was Ohio's first victory over a school from the

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

. The following week, Ohio fell three points short of defeating

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

. In Calhoun's final year at Ohio in 2000, the offense set a school record with 418.1 yards per game and rushed for a school-best 3,553. The Bobcats also ended the season with wins over two bowl teams,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and

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 ...

. Calhoun became offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

in 2001. During Calhoun's second season, the

Demon Deacons A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...

led the ACC in total offense with 408.1 yards per game, with a league-best 990 plays and only 16 turnovers. Calhoun began his NFL career with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

as a defensive assistant in 2003, and later moved to offense and special teams. When Broncos offensive coordinator

Gary Kubiak Gary Wayne Kubiak (born August 15, 1961) is a former American football coach and quarterback. He served as head coach for the NFL's Houston Texans from 2006 Houston Texans season, 2006 to 2013 Houston Texans season, 2013 and the Denver Broncos f ...

was hired as the Texans' head coach, Kubiak brought Calhoun along and made Calhoun his offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Calhoun finished out the 2006 season with the Texans before taking over at Air Force.

Air Force

Calhoun was hired on December 22, 2006 to be the head football coach for Air Force, replacing DeBerry who retired after 23 years as the Falcons' head coach. In his first season as head coach of the Falcons, he took the team to a 9–3 record, and a spot in the

Armed Forces Bowl The Armed Forces Bowl, formerly the Fort Worth Bowl from 2003 to 2005, is an annual postseason college football bowl game. First played in 2003, the game is normally held at the 45,000-seat Amon G. Carter Stadium on the campus of Texas Christian ...

against Cal. On December 4, 2007, Calhoun was named Mountain West Coach of the Year for 2007.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Air Force profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calhoun, Troy 1966 births Living people American football quarterbacks Air Force Falcons football coaches Air Force Falcons football players Denver Broncos coaches Houston Texans coaches National Football League offensive coordinators Ohio Bobcats football coaches Wake Forest Demon Deacons football coaches Sportspeople from McMinnville, Oregon Sportspeople from Roseburg, Oregon Players of American football from Oregon Military personnel from Oregon