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University of Maryland Athletics

Chris Cosh

Chris Cosh

  • Title
    Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers

Chris Cosh is in his third year as Maryland's defensive coordinator.

Cosh, who has served as a defensive coordinator in three of the six BCS conferences, also oversees the middle (Mike) and weakside (Will) linebackers.

This is Cosh's second tour of duty with the Terps, having spent the 1997 season in College Park.

Cosh's defense has continually grown during his second tenure.

Last year's defense was highlighted by first-team All-ACC performers Erin Henderson and Dre Moore. Henderson led the league in tackles from his weakside linebacker spot, while Moore, a defensive tackle, went on to become a fourth-round draft choice of Tampa Bay in the 2008 NFL Draft.

In addtion, LB Dave Philistin was fourth in the ACC in tackles and DL Carlos Feliciano and DB Isaiah Gardner were also signed as free agents after the draft.

Cosh's defense ended the year No. 24 nationally in scoring defense (21.5 points per game) and No. 33 in pass defense (210.69 yards per game). The group posted eight more sacks and five more interceptions than the previous year.

In 2006, Cosh was responsible for a unit that contributed to the school's first nine-win season in three years, and finished the year with a 24-7 victory over Purdue in the Champs Sports Bowl. The Terps defense held the opposition to an average of 21.8 points per game. Under Cosh's leadership, the defense marked breakout performances by cornerback Josh Wilson and Henderson, who each earned All-ACC honors.

Wilson went on to become a second-round choice of the Seattle Seahawks in the 2007 NFL Draft, while DL Conrad Boston (Minnesota Vikings) and LB David Holloway (Arizona Cardinals) signed free-agent contracts.

Cosh came to College Park after spending two seasons (2004-05) as a linebackers coach at Kansas State. The Wildcats defense ranked 32nd nationally in 2005 allowing an average of 128.9 yards per game in one of the nation's toughest-running conferences. Junior linebacker Brandon Archer was an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection in 2005, an accolade which came a year after Cosh helped coach the newcomer to second-team honors in his first year as a starter.

In the five years prior to his trek to Manhattan, Kan., Cosh served under Lou Holtz as linebackers coach (1999-2002) and defensive coordinator (2003) at South Carolina.

In his tenure at USC, he helped produce some of the Southeastern Conference's top linebackers with Kalimba Edwards (two-time first team all-league, Butkus and Lombardi Awards finalist in 2001) among them. His resume as a position coach also includes tutoring ultimate New York Jets first-round pick and Pro Bowler John Abraham (1999) and freshman All-American Lance Laury (2002).

During his time in Columbia, S.C., the Gamecocks won back-to-back bowl games for the first time in school history.

In addition to serving under coaching legends Snyder and Holtz (who he also worked under as a graduate assistant at Virginia Tech), Cosh was the defensive coordinator at Michigan State under former Miami Dolphins and current Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban, one of the top defensive minds in football. In his lone season (1998) in East Lansing, Mich., the Spartans upset No. 1 Ohio State and knocked off Notre Dame. Cosh's unit helped spark those wins with the 10th-ranked pass defense in the nation.

During his first tour of duty at Maryland, Cosh coached the linebackers while also heading up the team's recruiting efforts. In that one year with the Terps, linebackers Eric Barton and Kendal Ogle finished second and third, respectively, in the ACC in tackles.

The greatest testament to his skill as a coach of linebackers may have come in his previous job at Illinois (defensive coordinator from 1992-96) when he led Dana Howard (1994) and Kevin Hardy (1995) to consecutive Butkus Awards. Howard posted a Big Ten record in tackles in 1994.

He also oversaw a defense which saw DE Simeon Rice earn consensus All-America honors before being drafted by the Arizona Cardinals. Fellow LB John Holecek also went on to a career in the NFL.

A former linebacker who earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from Virginia Tech in 1983, Cosh also got his start in coaching in Blacksburg, Va., where he was a student assistant during the 1983 season. He then made five different stops (Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Southeast Missouri State, UNLV and two tours at Minnesota) before settling in at Illinois. In all but one of those full-time jobs he worked either as defensive coordinator or linebackers coach.

Cosh and his wife, Mary, have two sons, J.J., who is in his second year at the United States Naval Academy, and Billy, a sophomore in high school. Cosh is a native of Washington, D.C., and graduated from Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville, Md. He was chosen Metro Defensive Player of the Year while serving as captain at Bishop McNamara before moving onto Virginia Tech where he led the Hokies in tackles in 1980.

The Cosh File

Personal

Date of Birth: May 12, 1959
Hometown: Washington, D.C.
Alma Mater: Virginia Tech, `83

Coaching Experience

Maryland
2006-pr.: Assistant Coach - Defensive Coordinator
Kansas State
2004-05: Assistant Coach - Linebackers
South Carolina
2003: Assistant Coach - Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach
1999-2002: Assistant Coach - Linebackers
Michigan State
1998: Assistant Coach - Defensive Coordinator
Maryland
1997: Assistant Coach - Linebackers/Recruiting Coordinator
Illinois
1995-96: Asssistant Coach - Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach
1994: Assistant Head Coach/Linebackers Coach
1992-92: Assistant Coach - Linebackers
Minnesota
1991: Assistant Coach - Linebackers
1984: Graduate Assistant
UNLV
1990: Assistant Coach - Linebackers
Southeast Missouri State
1989: Assistant Coach - Defensive Line
Wisconsin-Oshkosh
1985-88: Assistant Coach - Defensive Coordinator
Virginia Tech
1983: Student Assistant

Playing Experience

Virginia Tech
Football (linebacker), 1977-81

Recruiting Areas

Maryland (Anne Arundel, Charles and St Mary's counties); private schools in Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia.