Meet the New Coaching Staff

With everything apparently finally assembled, lets take a look at what the coaching staff assembled by Longhorns head coach Charlie Strong looks like, along with position titles.  The staff will be charged with leading Texas back to the promised land, and by all accounts to a level of toughness and accountability which may have never before existed on the 40 acres.

Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach: Joe Wickline – Wickline is a man who needs no introduction to Texas fans who have watched him turn lumps of coal into diamonds for years as the offensive line coach at Oklahoma State. Twice, Mack Brown tried to get the guru in Austin, and twice he was told no. The third time was the charm for Texas as a new staff, a new attitude, and a step up the ladder was enough to get the elite coach in Austin.

Assistant Head Coach for Offense/Quarterback Coach: Shawn Watson – A guy who had learning to do the last time he was in the Big 12, Watson evolved into a good offensive coordinator under Charlie Strong at Louisville, and did an impressive job in developing Teddy Bridgewater into a 1st round NFL draft pick. At Texas, Watson faces the task of finding a signal caller and getting him ready to go as fast as possible, be it one with a spring (Swoopes, maybe Ash) or in just a few short weeks (Heard).

Wide Receivers Coach: Les Koenning – In four seasons, Koenning turned the anemic Mississippi State offense into one which broke most school records the past few seasons. The Bulldogs set four different school passing records in 2012 including passing yardage, completion percentage, completions and touchdowns. Koenning has been an offensive coordinator since 1998, and he will be tasked at Texas with turning around the fortunes of a unit which has been at times very anemic. In his final game at Mississippi State, Bulldogs QB Dak Prescott had 361 total yards and five touchdowns in a 44-7 win over C-USA Champion Rice.

Running Back Coach: Tommie Robinson – Plucked off the USC staff, Robinson spent three seasons as the RB coach of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, and helped Beanie Wells become the first player in franchise history to run for at least 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns. Under his command, Wells also set a franchise game rushing record with 228 yards.

He was also an offensive assistant with the Dallas Cowboys from 1998-2000, working with the teams wide receivers, including Michael Irvin. Robinson also has extensive experience at the collegiate level, with stops at Miami, Memphis, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State, Utah State, TCU, and Arkansas.

Tight Ends Coach: Bruce Chambers – Long a mainstay on Mack Brown’s staff, Chambers can recruit and has been the position coach of some great Texas tight ends, including David Thomas and Jermicheal Finley. Chambers also coached Blaine Irby, who was on his way to being a great player until a severe injury all but ended his career. The Texas offense has not featured the tight end in several seasons.

Defensive Coordinator/Secondary: Vance Bedford – Bedford, a former Texas DB, will also probably coach the safeties in some capacity. Under his watch, Louisville went from a bottom 25% defense to a top unit in most statistical categories for three straight seasons. Bedford’s units are tough versus the run and generate turnovers.

Assistant Head Coach for Defense/Defensive Line Coach: Chris Rumph – Rumph coached a strong defensive line at the University of Alabama, establishing himself as an excellent recruiter and talent developer. One of Rumph’s biggest accomplishments was the tutilage of Austrailian Jesse Williams from raw prospect to dominant nose tackle who was drafted by the Seahawks.

Linebacker Coach/Recruiting Coordinator: Brian Jean-Mary – Coming from Strong’s staff at Louisville, Jean-Mary has 13 years of experience, and served as recruiting coordinator last year for the Cardinals. Jean-Mary has tutored all conference performers such as Phillip Wheeler, who was also a second team All-American, KaMichael Hall, Gerris Wilkinson, who went on to be a third round pick of the Giants, and Chris Reis.

Defensive Backs Coach/Special Teams Coordinator: Chris Vaughn – The highly experienced Vaughn comes to Texas from Memphis, where the defense improved in just two seasons from 117th to 50th in the country. Vaughn also coached at Ole Miss for several seasons as the defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator. Prior to Ole Miss, Vaughn was at Arkansas in capacities ranging from Outside Linebackers to Secondary. Among his pupils at Arkansas were Tony Bua, an NFL Draft fifth-round pick of the Miami Dolphins; Vickiel Vaughn, a seventh-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers; and Matt Hewitt, who signed a free agent contract with the Buffalo Bills. In 2003, Vaughn directed a unit that helped Arkansas finish fifth in total defense and fourth in passing defense in the SEC. The Razorbacks also ranked third in pass efficiency defense.

As outside linebackers coach, Vaughn was instrumental in developing Bua into an All-SEC performer. Bua earned All-SEC honors from 2001-03 and ended his career as Arkansas’ all-time tackles leader with 408 stops.Vaughn was a graduate assistant on the Arkansas squad which held Texas to -27 yards rushing in a 27-6 win.

Head Coach for Strength and Conditioning: Pat Moorer – Moorer has already become famous with Texas fans for his “Pit” at Louisville. Moorer had a huge impact at Louisville, turning the Cardinals into a team which matched up with or overpowered “BCS” squads. Moorer was the former director of strength and conditioning at South Carolina, running four facilities and supervising a staff of eight coaches.

Moorer was awarded the certification of Master Strength and Conditioning Coach by the Collegiate Strength & Conditioning Coaches Association in 2006, the highest honor that can be achieved in the coaching profession of Strength and Conditioning. Prior to South Carolina, Moorer was in a similar position with the University of Illinois from 1997 to 1999.

Moorer earned his Bachelor of Science in health and human performance from Florida in 1992. As a player, he walked on and earned a scholarship in Gainesville, where he played inside linebacker for four seasons, was the SEC Freshman of the Year in 1986. He also led Florida in tackles in 1988-89 and was the team captain as a senior. He was a linebacker for the San Diego Chargers in 1990 and played for Frankfurt of NFL Europe in 1991 and 1992.

Moorer also served as the personal trainer to former Florida Gaor and NFL all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith.