Coaches
Ryan Nielsen
His career from Wikipedia, each job checked against the team-season pages (✓ = a second source agrees, ≠ = they disagree)
Ryan Nielsen
Played at USC 1997-2001
Source: Wikipedia, read 2026-10-26
| Years | Team | Role | Title | Head coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | USC | Other | Volunteer assistant | Pete Carroll |
| 2005-2007 | Ole Miss | Position | Defensive line coach | Ed Orgeron |
| 2008-2009 | Central Connecticut | DC | Defensive coordinator & defensive line coach | not known |
| 2010 | UT Martin | Position | Defensive line coach & special teams coach | not known |
| 2011 | Northern Illinois | Position | Defensive line coach & recruiting coordinator | Dave Doeren* |
| 2012 | Northern Illinois | DC | Co-defensive coordinator, defensive line coach & recruiting coordinator✓ | Dave Doeren* |
| 2013 | NC State | Position | Defensive line coach & recruiting coordinator | Dave Doeren* |
| 2014-2016 | NC State | Position | Defensive line coach & run game coordinator | Dave Doeren* |
| 2017-2020 | New Orleans Saints (pro) | Position | Defensive line coach | not known |
| 2021 | New Orleans Saints (pro) | Position | Assistant head coach & defensive line coach | not known |
| 2022 | New Orleans Saints (pro) | DC | Co-defensive coordinator & defensive line coach | not known |
| 2023 | Atlanta Falcons (pro) | DC | Defensive coordinator & defensive line coach | not known |
| 2024 | Jacksonville Jaguars (pro) | DC | Defensive coordinator | not known |
| 2025 | Buffalo Bills (pro) | Analyst | Senior defensive assistant | not known |
| 2026- | Minnesota Vikings (pro) | Other | Defensive running game coordinator | not known |
Record
Confirmed coordinator seasons since 2005. FBS rankings
| Season | Team | Job | EPA/play | Points/poss. | Success | Year before | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Northern Illinois | Co-defensive coordinator | 28 | 33 | 51 | 74 | 124 |
Worked under
- Pete Carroll · USC 2002 (Other)
- Ed Orgeron · Ole Miss 2005-2007 (Position)
- Dave Doeren* · Northern Illinois 2011-2012 (DC, Other, Position)
- Dave Doeren* · NC State 2013-2016 (Other, Position)
His tree
Coaches who were on his staffs
No one on his staffs among the coaches we hold.
Coached together
- Brennan Carroll · USC 2002 · him Other, them GA
- Ed Orgeron · USC 2002 · him Other, them Other, Position
- Kennedy Polamalu · USC 2002 · him Other, them Position, ST coord.
- Lane Kiffin*+ · USC 2002 · him Other, them Position
- Nick Holt · USC 2002 · him Other, them Position
- Norm Chow · USC 2002 · him Other, them OC
- Pete Carroll · USC 2002 · him Other, them Head coach
- Steve Sarkisian*+ · USC 2002 · him Other, them Position
- Chris Rippon · Ole Miss 2005-2007 · him Position, them Position, ST coord.
- Ed Orgeron · Ole Miss 2005-2007 · him Position, them Head coach
- Frank Wilson · Ole Miss 2005-2007 · him Position, them Position, ST coord.
- George DeLeone · Ole Miss 2005 · him Position, them Other, Position
- Grant Heard · Ole Miss 2005-2006 · him Position, them GA
- Matt Lubick · Ole Miss 2005-2006 · him Position, them Position
- Noel Mazzone · Ole Miss 2005 · him Position, them OC, Position
- Dan Werner · Ole Miss 2006-2007 · him Position, them OC
- Hugh Freeze · Ole Miss 2006-2007 · him Position, them Other, Position
- Chris Kiffin · Ole Miss 2007 · him Position, them GA
- John Thompson · Ole Miss 2007 · him Position, them DC, Position
- Rob Likens · Central Connecticut 2008-2009 · him DC, Position, them OC, Position
- Gerad Parker* · UT Martin 2010 · him Position, them Other
- Jason Simpson · UT Martin 2010 · him Position, them Head coach
- Kane Wommack · UT Martin 2010 · him Position, them Position
- Nathan Burton · UT Martin 2010 · him Position, them Position
- Dave Doeren* · Northern Illinois 2011-2012 · him DC, Other, Position, them Head coach
- Eddie Faulkner · Northern Illinois 2011 · him Other, Position, them Position, ST coord.
- Jay Niemann · Northern Illinois 2011-2012 · him DC, Other, Position, them DC, Position
- Kevin Kane · Northern Illinois 2011-2012 · him DC, Other, Position, them Position
- Matt Canada · Northern Illinois 2011 · him Other, Position, them OC, Position
- Rod Carey · Northern Illinois 2011-2012 · him DC, Other, Position, them Head coach, OC, Position
- Tom Matukewicz · Northern Illinois 2011 · him Other, Position, them Position
- Mike Dunbar · Northern Illinois 2012 · him DC, Other, Position, them OC
- Mike Uremovich* · Northern Illinois 2012 · him DC, Other, Position, them Position, ST coord.
- Clayton White · NC State 2013-2016 · him Other, Position, them Position, ST coord.
- Dave Doeren* · NC State 2013-2016 · him Other, Position, them Head coach
- Dave Huxtable · NC State 2013-2016 · him Other, Position, them DC, Position
- Desmond Kitchings · NC State 2013-2016 · him Other, Position, them Other, Position
- Eddie Faulkner · NC State 2013-2016 · him Other, Position, them Position, ST coord.
- Matt Canada · NC State 2013-2015 · him Other, Position, them OC, Position
- Mike Uremovich* · NC State 2013-2015 · him Other, Position, them Position
- Ty Howle · NC State 2014-2015 · him Other, Position, them GA
- George McDonald · NC State 2015-2016 · him Other, Position, them Position
- Dwayne Ledford · NC State 2016 · him Other, Position, them Position
- Eli Drinkwitz*+ · NC State 2016 · him Other, Position, them OC, Position
Played together
- Kris Richard · USC 1998-2001