Coaches
Brian Ward
His career from Wikipedia, each job checked against the team-season pages (✓ = a second source agrees, ≠ = they disagree)
Brian Ward
Played at McPherson 1994-1996
Source: Wikipedia, read 2026-10-26
| Years | Team | Role | Title | Head coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | McPherson | DC | DC/ST | not known |
| 1999-2000 | Glendale (AZ) | DC | DC/DB | not known |
| 2001-2004 | Wabash | ST coord. | AHC/DB/ST | not known |
| 2005 | Missouri Southern | DC | AHC/co-DC/ST | not known |
| 2006 | Tulsa Union HS (OK) (HS) | DC | AHC/DC | not known |
| 2007-2009 | McPherson | Head coach | Head coach | himself |
| 2010 | North Dakota State | Position | DB | not known |
| 2011 | Drake | DC | DC/LB | not known |
| 2012-2014 | Western Illinois | DC | DC/LB | not known |
| 2015 | Bowling Green | Head coachinterim | DC / LB / interim HC | Dino Babers |
| 2016-2019 | Syracuse | DC | DC✓ | Dino Babers |
| 2020-2021 | Nevada | DC | DC✓ | Jay Norvell |
| 2022 | Washington State | DC | DC✓ | Jake Dickert*+ |
| 2023-2025 | Arizona State | DC | DC/S✓ | Kenny Dillingham* |
| 2026- | Arizona State (DC) (unknown) | Head coach | Head coach | himself |
| 2026 | Arizona State | DC | Defensive coordinator · season pages | Kenny Dillingham* |
Record
Confirmed coordinator seasons since 2005. FBS rankings
| Season | Team | Job | EPA/play | Points/poss. | Success | Year before | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Bowling Green | Defensive coordinator | 57 | 76 | 67 | 82 | 128 |
| 2016 | Syracuse | Defensive coordinator | 113 | 110 | 97 | 93 | 128 |
| 2017 | Syracuse | Defensive coordinator | 100 | 82 | 78 | 113 | 130 |
| 2018 | Syracuse | Defensive coordinator | 58 | 32 | 56 | 100 | 130 |
| 2019 | Syracuse | Defensive coordinator | 82 | 67 | 75 | 58 | 130 |
| 2020 | Nevada | Defensive coordinator | 44 | 38 | 47 | 99 | 127 |
| 2021 | Nevada | Defensive coordinator | 64 | 58 | 100 | 44 | 130 |
| 2022 | Washington State | Defensive coordinator | 60 | 49 | 66 | 72 | 131 |
| 2023 | Arizona State | Defensive coordinator | 117 | 117 | 119 | 111 | 133 |
| 2024 | Arizona State | Defensive coordinator | 36 | 50 | 67 | 117 | 134 |
| 2025 | Arizona State | Defensive coordinator | 44 | 50 | 58 | 36 | 136 |
| Season | Head coach below FBS | Level | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | McPherson | NAIA | 4-6 |
| 2008 | McPherson | NAIA | 4-6 |
| 2009 | McPherson | NAIA | 9-2 |
Worked under
- Dino Babers · Bowling Green 2015 (DC)
- Dino Babers · Syracuse 2016-2019 (DC)
- Jay Norvell · Nevada 2020-2021 (DC)
- Jake Dickert*+ · Washington State 2022 (DC)
- Kenny Dillingham* · Arizona State 2023-2026 (DC, Position)
His tree
Coaches who were on his staffs
No one on his staffs among the coaches we hold.
Coached together
- Chris Creighton* · Wabash 2001-2004 · him Other, Position, ST coord., them Head coach
- Brent Vigen · North Dakota State 2010 · him Position, them OC, Position
- Craig Bohl · North Dakota State 2010 · him Position, them Head coach
- Jake Dickert*+ · North Dakota State 2010 · him Position, them Position
- Kenni Burns · North Dakota State 2010 · him Position, them Position
- Scottie Hazelton · North Dakota State 2010 · him Position, them DC, Position
- Tim Polasek* · North Dakota State 2010 · him Position, them Position
- Chris Creighton* · Drake 2011 · him DC, Position, them Head coach
- Jared Elliott · Western Illinois 2012 · him DC, Position, them Position
- Jason Eck* · Western Illinois 2012 · him DC, Position, them Other, Position
- Bob Nielson · Western Illinois 2013-2014 · him DC, Position, them Head coach
- Matt Entz* · Western Illinois 2013 · him DC, Position, them DC, Other, Position
- Dino Babers · Bowling Green 2015 · him DC, Head coach, Position, them Head coach
- Kim McCloud · Bowling Green 2015 · him DC, Head coach, Position, them Other, Position
- Mike Lynch · Bowling Green 2015 · him DC, Head coach, Position, them OC
- Nick Monroe · Bowling Green 2015 · him DC, Head coach, Position, them Position
- Sean Lewis* · Bowling Green 2015 · him DC, Head coach, Position, them OC, Position
- Tom Kaufman · Bowling Green 2015 · him DC, Head coach, Position, them Position, ST coord.
- Adam Gristick · Syracuse 2016-2017 · him DC, them Analyst, GA
- Dino Babers · Syracuse 2016-2019 · him DC, them Head coach
- Kim McCloud · Syracuse 2016-2019 · him DC, them Other, Position
- Lanear Sampson · Syracuse 2016-2017 · him DC, them Analyst, GA
- Mike Hart · Syracuse 2016 · him DC, them Position
- Mike Lynch · Syracuse 2016-2019 · him DC, them OC
- Nick Monroe · Syracuse 2016-2019 · him DC, them Position
- Sean Lewis* · Syracuse 2016-2017 · him DC, them OC, Position
- Tom Kaufman · Syracuse 2016 · him DC, them Position, ST coord.
- Matt Johnson · Syracuse 2017 · him DC, them Analyst
- Steve Stanard · Syracuse 2017-2019 · him DC, them DC, Position
- Freddie Banks · Nevada 2020 · him DC, them Position
- Jay Norvell · Nevada 2020-2021 · him DC, them Head coach
- Jody Sears · Nevada 2020 · him DC, them DC, Position
- Matt Mumme · Nevada 2020-2021 · him DC, them OC, Position
- Timmy Chang* · Nevada 2020-2021 · him DC, them Position
- Vai Taua · Nevada 2020-2021 · him DC, them Head coach, Position
- Eric Morris*+ · Washington State 2022 · him DC, them OC, Position
- Jake Dickert*+ · Washington State 2022 · him DC, them Head coach
- Jordan Davis · Washington State 2022 · him DC, them Analyst
- Pete Kaligis · Washington State 2022 · him DC, them Other, Position
- Sean Brophy · Washington State 2022 · him DC, them GA
- Beau Baldwin · Arizona State 2023 · him DC, Position, them OC, Position
- Charlie Ragle · Arizona State 2023-2025 · him DC, Position, them Other, ST coord.
- DeWayne Walker · Arizona State 2023-2026 · him DC, Position, them Analyst, Other
- Kenny Dillingham* · Arizona State 2023-2026 · him DC, Position, them Head coach
- Marvin Lewis · Arizona State 2023 · him DC, Position, them Other
- Shaun Aguano · Arizona State 2023-2026 · him DC, Position, them Position
- David Gibbs · Arizona State 2024-2026 · him DC, Position, them Analyst, Position
- Marcus Arroyo · Arizona State 2024-2026 · him DC, Position, them OC, Position