Lou Spanos

Last updated
Lou Spanos
Lou Spanos.png
Spanos in 2012
Ole Miss Rebels
Position:Defensive analyst
Personal information
Born: (1971-03-27) March 27, 1971 (age 53)
Career information
High school: Keystone Oaks
(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
College: Tulsa
Career history
As a coach:
Career highlights and awards
Head coaching record
Career:1–9 (college)

Louis G. Spanos (born March 27, 1971) is an American college football coach. He is a defensive analyst for the University of Mississippi, a position he has held since 2023. He was the interim head football coach for the University of Connecticut in 2021. [1] He was a defensive quality control and assistant linebackers coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1995 to 2009, [2] the linebackers coach for the Washington Redskins from 2010 to 2011, [3] and the defensive coordinator for the UCLA from 2012 to 2013.

Contents

Throughout his career, Spanos has been to the Super Bowl three times, winning two of them with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2006 and 2009, and had been to the College National Championship once; in 2019 with Alabama.

Playing career

Spanos attended Keystone Oaks High School, located in the South Hills suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and played in the 1989 Big 33 Football Classic. A 1994 graduate of the University of Tulsa, Spanos was a four-year letterman and three-year starter at center. He served as the center for Tulsa quarterback Gus Frerotte.

Coaching career

Spanos stayed at Tulsa for a year after his playing career concluded to assist coaching the linebackers. He joined the Steelers in 1995. Spanos is one of only two assistant coaches to be on the Super Bowl XXX, Super Bowl XL and Super Bowl XLIII coaching staffs, joining defensive line coach John Mitchell.

On January 16, 2010, Spanos was hired by Mike Shanahan and the Washington Redskins to be their linebackers coach. [4] After the 2011 season, he left the Redskins to coach the UCLA Bruins defense. On January 18, 2014, Spanos left the Bruins and was hired by Ken Whisenhunt of the Tennessee Titans as linebackers coach.

On September 5, 2021, Huskies head coach Randy Edsall announced plans to retire at the end of the 2021 season; a day later, UConn announced that Edsall would step down immediately as a result of a "mutual decision" between him and the university. Spanos was named the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. [5]

Spanos resigned as defensive coordinator at UConn in August 2022, two weeks before the beginning of the football season. [6] [7]

Head coaching record

YearTeamOverallConferenceStandingBowl/playoffs
UConn Huskies (NCAA Division I FBS independent)(2021)
2021 UConn 1–9 [lower-alpha 1]
UConn:1–9
Total:1–9

Notes

  1. Served as interim head coach after Randy Edsall stepped down on September 6.

Personal life

As of 2021, Spanos and his wife reside in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina with their three children. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Haslett</span> American football player and coach (born 1955)

James Donald Haslett is an American football coach and former linebacker who was most recently the head coach of the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL. He played college football for the IUP Crimson Hawks before being drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the 1979 NFL Draft; he went on to be named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Norton Jr.</span> American football player and coach (born 1966)

Kenneth Howard Norton Jr. is an American football coach and former player who is the linebackers coach for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 1988 NFL draft. Norton won three Super Bowls during his playing career with the Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers and became coach in 2004, later serving as a defensive coordinator with the Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks. He is the son of former world champion heavyweight boxer Ken Norton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim L. Mora</span> American football player and coach (born 1961)

James Lawrence Mora is an American football coach who is the head coach at the University of Connecticut. Before that, he was the head coach of the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference from 2012 to 2017. Prior to taking the job at UCLA, Mora served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL), coaching the Atlanta Falcons from 2004 to 2006 and Seattle Seahawks in 2009. He has also served as an analyst for NFL Network and Fox Sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randy Shannon</span> American football player and coach (born 1966)

Randy Leonard Shannon is an American football coach and former player. He is the linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator for Florida State. Shannon was the head coach at the University of Miami from 2007 to 2010 and has served as an assistant coach for the National Football League (NFL)'s Miami Dolphins and several college teams, including stints as the defensive coordinator for the Miami Hurricanes, the Florida Gators, and the UCF Knights. He won the Frank Broyles Award as the nation's top collegiate assistant coach while at Miami in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Ulbrich</span> American football player and coach (born 1977)

Jeffery Wade Ulbrich is an American football coach and former linebacker who is the defensive coordinator for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Hawaii and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round in the 2000 NFL Draft and played for the 49ers from 2000 to 2009.

Adrian William Klemm is an American football coach and former offensive tackle who was most recently the offensive line coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the offensive line coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russ Grimm</span> American football player and coach (born 1959)

Russell Scott Grimm is an American former professional football player who was a guard for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He has also served as an assistant coach for the Redskins, Pittsburgh Steelers, Arizona Cardinals, and Tennessee Titans. As a professional, Grimm had multiple selections to both the All-Pro and Pro Bowl teams, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010. Grimm played 11 seasons for the Redskins and was a first-team selection to the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team.

Carnell Augustino Lake is an American former professional football player and coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Memphis Showboats of the United Football League (UFL). He was a safety and cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He is a member of the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team. He was the cornerbacks coach for the UCLA Bruins under head coach Rick Neuheisel in 2009 before leaving after one season for family reasons. He was the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive backs coach until February 2018.

Richard Blair Modzelewski was an American football defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants, and the Cleveland Browns. He also served as interim head coach of the Browns in the final game of the 1977 season. Modzelewski was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1993.

The UConn Huskies football team is a college football team that represents the University of Connecticut in the sport of American football. The team competes in NCAA Division I FBS as an independent. Connecticut first fielded a team in 1896, and participated in Division I-AA until 1999. The Huskies began their two-year Division I-A transition period in 2000, and became a full-fledged Division I-A team in 2002. From 2000 to 2003, the team played as an independent. The school's football team then joined the conference of its other sport teams, the Big East, taking effect in 2004, through 2019. In 2019, the UConn football team left the American to again play as an independent, as the school's current primary conference, the current Big East, does not sponsor the sport. The Huskies currently are coached by Jim Mora.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randy Edsall</span> American football coach (born 1958)

Randy Douglas Edsall is a former American football coach, who was the head football coach at the University of Connecticut from 1999 to 2010 and again from 2017 until his abrupt retirement in 2021. He also served as the head coach at the University of Maryland from 2011 to 2015 and as director of football research-special projects for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) in 2016. During his first stint at UConn, he oversaw the program's promotion from the NCAA Division I-AA level to Division I-A. He is the program's all-time leader in wins and games coached.

LaVern Earl "Torgy" Torgeson was an American football player and coach. He played college football for Washington State from 1948 through 1950. Torgeson played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons, principally as a linebacker, for the Detroit Lions from 1951 to 1954 and for the Washington Redskins from 1955 to 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Bradley (American football coach)</span> American football player and coach (born 1956)

Thomas Mark Bradley is an American football coach and former collegiate player. He most recently served as the defensive backs coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Before joining the Steelers, he was the defensive coordinator for the UCLA Bruins football team. Before arriving at UCLA Bradley served as the senior associate head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers football team. He is best known for his four-decade association with Penn State Nittany Lions football as a player and coach. Bradley served as the interim head coach of Penn State following Joe Paterno's dismissal nine games into his 46th season as head coach and left the Penn State program in 2012. Bradley has participated in a remarkable 34 bowl games. He played in four as a player at Penn State, twenty-seven coaching at Penn State, one coaching at West Virginia, and two coaching at UCLA.

Noel Scott Mazzone is an American football coach and former player who is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Pittsburgh Maulers of the United States Football League (USFL). He is former offensive coordinator at the University of Arizona.

Kacy Rodgers is an American football coach, currently serving as the co-defensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Tennessee and was a part of the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad in the NFL in 1992. Since then, Rodgers has served as an assistant coach at the college and professional levels.

Robert Albert Diaco is an American football coach and a former linebacker. He is a defensive analyst for the LSU Tigers of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). He played college football at the University of Iowa for coach Hayden Fry from 1992 to 1995. He then served as the head coach of the UConn Huskies (2014–2016).

The 2021 UConn Huskies football team represented the University of Connecticut (UConn) in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Huskies competed as an independent, having left the American Athletic Conference following the 2019 season. They played their home games at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut.

Tyler Stockton is an American college football coach and former player who serves as the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Boise State University. He spent four years on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, where he played part of one season as a defensive lineman. He spent time coaching at the University of Connecticut, Western Illinois University and Ball State University before arriving at Boise State.

Jarren Horton is an American football coach and former player. Horton served as the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach for the Pittsburgh Maulers of the United States Football League (USFL).

References

  1. Foster, Chris (January 17, 2012). "UCLA football: Redskins' Lou Spanos to be Bruins defensive coordinator". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2012-01-17.
  2. "Lou Spanos (bio)". Pittsburgh Steelers. Archived from the original on 2010-01-17. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  3. Dulac, Gerry (January 13, 2010). "Steelers lose one defensive assistant, possibly another". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  4. Terl, Matt. "Lou Spanos Named Linebackers Coach, Kirk Olivadotti Retained". Redskins Blog. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  5. "Randy Edsall Steps Aside Immediately as Head Football Coach". 5 September 2021.
  6. Parks, James (21 August 2022). "College football coach leaves team a week before season starts". College Football HQ. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  7. Vannini, Chris (2022-12-15). "How Jim Mora took UConn from rock bottom to a bowl game in one year". The Athletic. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  8. Sapakoff, Gene (2021-11-14). "Sapakoff: Clemson, Dabo add to Mount Pleasant's Lou Spanos' bizarre year". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2023-05-10.