Tulane's Toledo Announces Football Coaching Staff
Jan 5, 2007 | Football
Jan. 5, 2007
New Orleans - Tulane University newly appointed Head Football Coach Bob Toledo announced his coaching staff today. Toledo has added seven new assistant coaches, while retaining two assistant coaches from the previous staff.
Assistant coaches joining the Green Wave staff are offensive coaches Dan Dodd, Thomas Woods and Doug Lichtenberger, while defensive coaches coming to Tulane are Thom Kaumeyer, Fred Bleil, O'Neill Gilbert and Greg Jackson.
Don Mahoney returns as the offensive line coach for his ninth year, while Greg Davis Jr., begins his eighth year at Tulane as the running backs coach.
Offensive Coaching Staff
Dan Dodd, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach, 1st year
Greg Davis, Running Backs, 8th year
Don Mahoney, Offensive Line, 9th year
Doug Lichtenberger, Tight Ends, 1st year
Thomas Woods, Wide Receivers, 1st year
Defensive Coaching Staff
Thom Kaumeyer, Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs, 1st year
O'Neill Gilbert, Defensive Line, 1st year
Greg Jackson, Defensive Backs, 1st year
Fred Bleil, Linebackers/Special Teams, 1st year
Fred Bleil
Bleil, 57, joins the Green Wave staff after spending one season as the defensive coordinator/secondary coach at the University of North Texas. Prior to the Mean Green, he spent eight seasons as the secondary coach at San Diego State.
Bliel spent two terms as the director of the Mean Green defense after leading one of the Big West's top units in 1997 and 1998. Under Bleil, North Texas finished in the top three in the conference in scoring defense in both years, and ranked second in the league in pass defense in 96. Two-time NFL Pro Bowler Brian Waters was an All-Big West selection for Bliel's Mean Green defense, as were three other North Texas players in that two-year span.
At San Diego State, he coached the secondary for the final eight seasons and the special teams for three. Under his direction, the Aztec secondary became a force in the Mountain West and across the nation. SDSU improved from 86th in the country in pass defense in 2002 to fourth in 2003. Aztec cornerbacks ranked first and second in the MWC in 2003 in passes defended and third for interceptions.
Prior to North Texas, Bleil was the defensive coordinator at New Mexico from 1992 to 1995. In four seasons with the Lobos, Bleil helped improve the defense from one of the worst in the nation to one of the best in the WAC.
Bliel served defensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Utah State from 1986-91, and was the head coach at New Mexico Highlands from 1979 to 1982. He earned Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors when he led Highlands to the 1981 conference crown. He was also honored as the AFCA College Division Coach of the Year.
Bleil played football at Northern Iowa in 1967 and went on to earn his degree at Westmar College in 1971. He added a master's degree to his resume in 1972 from Eastern New Mexico.
Greg Davis Jr.
Davis, 35, enters his eighth season as Tulane's running backs coach in 2007, and will have a solid corps of backs to work with including senior Matt Forté, Tulane's top returning rusher, along with veterans Ray Boudreaux, Ade Tuyo and Andre Anderson.
Forté has posted three straight seasons with more than 600 yards, including a career-high 859 yards and eight touchdowns before an injury sidelined him for the final three games of the 2006 campaign. He already ranks among the Top 10 rushers in Tulane history and has proven to be a capable receiver as well, finishing as the Wave's fourth-leading receiver with 360 yards during his junior campaign.
Forté has followed in the footsteps of Tulane career rushing leader Mewelde Moore, who set 24 school rushing and all-purpose records during his career and finished his tenure at Tulane as the top rusher in Conference USA history. Now a running back with the Minnesota Vikings, Moore was a model student-athlete for the Wave.
In his additional role as coach of the Green Wave specialists, Davis worked with one of the school's and C-USA top punters in Chris Beckman, a first-team all-league choice averaged more than 43 yards per punt during his career and finished his Tulane career in second place on the school's record chart for punting average.
Davis also sent Tulane all-time leading scorer Seth Marler to the NFL in 2003. Marler kicked for the Jacksonville Jaguars as a rookie that season after winning the Lou Groza Award as the nation's best kicker in 2001. Davis welcomed rookie kicker Ross Thevenot to the Green Wave specialist corps in 2006. Thevenot earned the starting job, playing in every game and finishing second on the team in scoring with 50 points.
Davis came to Tulane from Alabama A&M, where he coached quarterbacks in 1999. He spent the 1998 season at the University of Texas as a quality control coach. In his year at Texas, the Longhorns won the Cotton Bowl. At North Carolina in 1996 and '97, Davis worked with the defensive backs on a pair of Gator Bowl championship squads.
Davis' name is familiar to Tulane fans as his father, Greg Davis Sr., is a former Green Wave head coach (1988-91) and is currently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Texas.
A 1989 graduate of Grace King High School in Metairie, La., Davis attended Nicholls State University, where he was a student assistant coach. Upon graduating from NSU in 1994, he went to Southeast Missouri State University, where he spent two years coaching the wide receivers and kickers.
Dan Dodd
Dodd, 50, comes to Tulane after nine seasons at the University of New Mexico, where he served as the special team's coordinator with additional duties of overseeing recruiting, wide receivers and kickers. Dodd was the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for six seasons (2000-05), and was also the Lobos' passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach under former head coach Dennis Franchione in 1996 and `97.
Dodd followed Franchione to TCU after UNM's 1997 bowl season. He spent two seasons (1998-99) as the Horned Frogs' offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach before returning to New Mexico in January of 2000.
Dodd was a member of coaching staffs at New Mexico and TCU that produced four straight winning seasons from 1996-1999 and participated in three consecutive bowl games (1997-99). All told, Dodd has been to seven bowl games in 10 years.
New Mexico won the Western Athletic Conference Mountain Division title in 1997 and played in the Insight.com Bowl. TCU defeated Southern California (28-19) in the 1998 Norwest Sun Bowl and 20th-ranked East Carolina (28-14) in the 1999 Mobile Alabama Bowl.
Four of UNM's last five bowl appearances (1997, 2002, 2003, 2004) were directed by quarterbacks that Dodd mentored, including Graham Leigh, the WAC Mountain Division offensive player of the year in 1997, Casey Kelly, who guided the Lobos to consecutive bowl appearances and Donald Sellers.
In 2005, New Mexico improved its offensive averages by 9.3 points and 99.4 yards a game from the previous season. TB DonTrell Moore became just the sixth player in NCAA history to rush for 1,000 yards in four consecutive seasons while Moore and WR Hank Baskett provided UNM with its first 1,000-yard rusher and 1,000-yard receiver in the same season. Moore earned MWC Offensive Player of the Year honors.
The 2003 Lobos offense was one of the most productive in school history, leading the conference in scoring (30.1 ppg) for the first time since 1986. UNM finished 39th nationally with 400.5 yards in 2003 and its rushing average of 210 yards a game ranked 16th in the NCAA. UNM also led the league in red-zone offense efficiency, converting 90.2% of its opportunities. New Mexico placed four players on the all-conference team, its highest representation in 32 years.
Dodd initially came to UNM in 1996 after spending five years as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Ill. WIU was ranked in the Division I-AA Top-25 three times (1991-92, `94) during Dodd's stay.
Prior to Western Illinois, Dodd was the running backs coach at Utah State for two years (1989-90). He also spent four seasons (1985-88) at Butler County (Kan.) Community College in El Dorado, the last two years as its head coach. Butler was 32-14 in those four seasons, including three Jayhawk Community College Conference titles.
Dodd began his coaching career at high schools in Southern California. He was quarterbacks and receivers coach at San Clemente High School in 1980-82, running backs and linebackers coach at Santa Ana Mater Dei in 1983 and head coach at Long Beach St. Anthony in 1984.
A native of San Clemente, Calif., Dodd is a 1978 graduate of Drake University where he earned his bachelor's degree in Education. He set three school passing records as the Bulldogs quarterback, and was a co-captain in 1977.
O'Neill Gilbert
Gilbert, 41, returns to the college game after coaching in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills in 2002 and 2003, and spent time with the Seattle Seahawks summer camp in 2006. He also coached with the Tennessee Titans from 1997-2000 and was the linebacker coach on the Titans' AFC Championship and Super Bowl team. He did not coach in 2004 and 2005.
His most recent stint in the college ranks was at the University of Cincinnati from 2001-02. Prior to Cincinnati, he was the outside linebacker coach at the University of Illinois from 1997-2000, where he coached a pair of All-America linebackers and NFL top five draft picks- Kevin Hardy and Simeon Rice.
Gilbert spent four years at UNLV as the outside linebacker coach from 1992-93 and was the defensive line coach from 1993-95. He helped the Rebels to the Las Vegas Bowl in 1994.
Gilbert broke into college coaching at Navarro (Texas) Junior College as the defensive line and outside linebackers coach from 1991-92, and helped the team to the junior college Dixie Bowl title in 1991.
A four-year letterwinner at Texas A&M University from 1985-88, Gilbert led the Aggies to three straight Southwest Conference titles (1986-88) and Cotton Bowl championships in 1986 and 1988. He spent one season in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers in 1989 as a defensive lineman.
Gilbert earned his bachelor's degree in education in 1990 and was a graduate assistant coach for Texas A&M during the 1990 and 1991 campaigns.
Greg Jackson
Jackson, 40, comes to Tulane after recently completing his third season as the defensive back coach at Louisiana-Monroe. Under Jackson, the ULM secondary increased its number of interceptions from 7 to 13, including all-Sun Belt Conference defensive back Chris Harris' national leading seven interceptions in 2004.
Two of Jackson's top pupils over the past two seasons - Kevin Payne and Chaz Williams - received invitations to the 2007 NFL Combine. Payne was a two-time all-Sun Belt Conference selection as a defensive back after earning the honor as a freshman at running back. Williams earned all-Sun Belt honors as a junior when he led the league in interceptions.
Jackson joined the ULM staff after one season as secondary coach at Idaho, where he coached the Vandal defensive backs to a No. 31 national ranking in pass defense, up from No. 111 the season before he arrived.
Jackson was a third-round draft choice of the New York Giants in 1989 and was a member of the Giants' 1990-91 Super Bowl championship team. In 1994, he went to the Philadelphia Eagles for two seasons, and played the New Orleans Saints (1996) and San Diego Chargers (1997-2001).
Jackson's leadership abilities were recognized often and early during his playing career. He was one of five permanent captains of the 1988 LSU team and after only three years in professional football, he was voted team captain of the Giants in 1992 and 1993. He was also voted the Giants' Player of the Year for activities outside football in 1993. He was captain of the 1996 Eagles and was special team's captain for San Diego in 1998 and 2000.
He enjoyed a great career at LSU from 1985-88, helping the Tigers to some of their greatest seasons. Those four LSU teams were a combined 36-10-2, won Southeastern Conference championships in 1986 and 1988, and played in bowl games every year. Jackson was named to the all-SEC first team and was a first team all-America selection in 1988.
In his senior season, Jackson, a safety, led the nation in pass interceptions with seven for 219 yards - the second highest interception yardage total in SEC history. He tied an NCAA record by returning an interception 100 yards against Mississippi State.
A native of Miami, Fla. He earned a bachelor's degree in communications broadcasting from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 2004.
Thom Kaumeyer
Kaumeyer, 39, joins the Tulane staff after spending the last five seasons at San Diego State University, where he was the defensive coordinator for his first four seasons and served as the defensive backs coach this past year.
During his tenure as the defensive coordinator, he helped develop the Aztec defensive unit into one of the best in the MWC. In 2003, he orchestrated the biggest defensive improvement in the country as San Diego State leaped from 95th in total defense in 2002 to eighth in 2003, from 91st in pass defense to fourth and from 92nd in scoring defense to 13th. One season later in 2004, the Aztecs ranked in the top 50 nationally in three team defensive categories and has finished second in the MWC in red zone defense each of the last two seasons.
SDSU produced 13 all-MWC first or second team defensive selections during Kaumeyer's tenure. The group is highlighted by two-time conference defensive player of the year, All-America linebacker Kirk Morrison, who was one of four Aztecs to be selected in the first five rounds of the NFL Draft from 2004-05.
Prior to San Diego State, he coached two seasons as defensive quality-control coach for the Atlanta Falcons. Kaumeyer assisted in all facets of the defensive game plan and also served as assistant secondary coach in Atlanta.
A defensive coordinator and special teams coach at Palomar College from 1998-00, he served stints at Palomar separated by a two-year move to Tokyo, Japan, where he was head coach and oversaw football operations for Onward Kashiyama, Ltd. in 1995 and 1996. As head coach at Palomar in 1994, the Comets were 8-3 and ended up with a final No.18 national ranking by JC Grid-Wire.
As a collegiate player, he was an All-American safety at Palomar College in 1986 before transferring to the University of Oregon (1987-88), where he played two seasons at Oregon and all-Pac-10 honors. Kaumeyer was selected in the sixth round of the 1989 NFL draft by the Los Angeles Rams and spent time as a player with the Rams, Seahawks and Giants. He received his bachelor's degree in American studies from Regents University in Albany, N.Y. in 1993, and later earned a master's degree in education at Azusa Pacific in 1998.
Doug Lichtenberger
Lichtenberger, 32, comes to Tulane after spending the 2006 campaign as the offensive administrative assistant at Auburn. He assisted AU offensive coordinator Al Borges, Toledo's offensive coordinator, with all facets of the offense and helped the Tigers to a 10-2 mark and a victory in the Cotton Bowl.
Prior to Auburn, Lichtenberger was the offensive line coach at the University of California-Davis from April 2005 to February 2006. During his stint at UC-Davis, he helped the team to a 20-17 upset of Stanford en route to a conference co-championship.
From 2001-04, Lichtenberger was the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn. He served as the offensive line coach as a graduate assistant at Idaho, and was the tight ends coach at the University of Nevada during the 2000 season.
A former All-American offensive lineman at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Lichtenberger was a three-time all-conference performer for the Mustangs. He helped lead the team to a top-20 national ranking during his senior season and earned 1-AA All-America honors that same season.
Lichtenberger, who earned his degree in 1998, went on to get his master's degree in sport and recreation management at the University of Idaho in August 2000.
Don Mahoney
Mahoney, 37, begins his ninth season as the Green Wave offensive line coach in 2007. Mahoney's 2006 line featured a combination of youth and maturity, along with the return of a valuable tackle as 2005 starters Michael Parenton and Derek Rogers join two-year starter Donald Madlock to form the core group. Several young players, including a trio of redshirt freshmen, two sophomores and a junior, will vie for the remaining starting roles and valuable playing time. The result was one of the most improved areas on the team.
During his Tulane tenure, Mahoney's line has provided the backbone for the Green Wave offense as Tulane has put up some of the most impressive offensive numbers in the history of its football program. Over the last seven years, Tulane has boasted some of the top rushers and all-purpose yardage gainers, the top passers and the top scorers in school history.
Individually, Mahoney's most successful Tulane pupil on the field has been 2000 All-American Bernard Robertson. Drafted in the fifth round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears, Robertson spent two seasons as a key member of the Bears' offensive line and is now an investment planner in New Orleans. The 2005 senior class included four-year starter and all-conference honoree Chris McGee, who signed a free agent contract with the Atlanta Falcons.
Off the field, Mahoney's charges have earned eight Academic All-District awards, with at least one offensive lineman named to the team in each of the last six seasons. Guard Matt Traina was a Draddy Award (the Academic Heisman) semifinalist in 2005.
Prior to his arrival in New Orleans, Mahoney spent six years at Central Michigan University. He started as a graduate assistant coach (1993-94) and then moved up to coach the tight ends (1995-97) and then offensive line (1998) for the Chippewas. In 1994, he helped CMU to the Mid-American Conference title and a trip to the Las Vegas Bowl.
Mahoney was an all-conference offensive guard and three-year starter during his playing days at Marshall. He was selected team captain as a senior in 1990. After completing his playing career, Mahoney joined the Herd coaching staff as a student assistant; he was on board when Marshall won the 1992 Division I-AA National Championship.
Thomas Woods
Woods, 39, joins the Green Wave after spending last season as the wide receiver coach/return specialist at Jacksonville State University. Prior to JSU, Woods spent one season in the high school ranks at Cookeville High School.
From 2000-05, Woods was the wide receivers coach/return specialist at the University of Mississippi and helped the Rebels to two bowl victories, a 10-win season for the first time since 1971, and to the SEC West Division title. Under his guidance, Ole Miss wide-out Chris Collins set or tied nine school receiving records and was a first-team All-SEC performer.
Prior to Ole Miss, Woods served in the same capacity at Western Carolina from 1997-2001, where two of his receivers surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in the same season. Woods broke into the college ranks at Appalachian State during the 1996-97 campaign as a wide receivers coach.
As a collegian at the University of Tennessee from 1985-89, Woods was a two-time All-SEC selection in 1988 and 1989 and completed his career as the Volunteer's single-season and career receiving leader. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 1990 and played two seasons in the World League of American Football with the Barcelona Dragons.
Woods earned his bachelor's degree in education from Tennessee in 1996.
