Illinois State University Athletics

Began career as a quarterback at Illinois State in 1974 and later moved to the defensive side of the ball at linebacker in 1976 … following a career-ending injury, began his coaching career as a student-assistant for the Redbirds … in 1979, got his first coaching job as a part-time defensive assistant at Missouri, working there for two seasons … then moved onto Weber State, where he served as the inside linebackers coach from 1981–84 and later as defensive coordinator from 1983–88 … from 1989–1993, he took over the role of defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Washington State and in 1993, the Cougars defense ranked eighth in the nation in total defense and second in rushing defense … began his professional coaching career in 1994 as a member of the Dallas Cowboys staff … worked with the Cowboys from 1994–2006, becoming the franchise's defensive coordinator in 2000 … was a member of the staff that helped guide the Cowboys to a Super Bowl XXX win over the Pittsburgh Steelers … worked for one season as the defensive coordinator in Atlanta, before spending six seasons as the defensive coordinator in Cincinnati from 2008-13 …. during his time with the Bengals, was named the NFL Assistant Coach of the Year (2009) and was a recipient of the George Halas Award (2010) … helped lead the Bengals to four playoff appearances …was named the ninth head coach in Minnesota Vikings history in 2015 and served in that role until 2021 … in eight seasons, led the Vikings to a 72-56-1 record (9.1 wins per season), three trips to the postseason (2015, 2017, 2019) with two playoff wins, and captured two NFC North division titles (2015 and 2017) … currently serves as an analyst for Jackson State and head coach Deion Sanders.