Jan. 20, 2011
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Maryland head football coach Randy Edsall completed his staff Thursday with the announcement that Gary Crowton, Todd Bradford and John Dunn will serve as assistants.
Crowton will be the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Bradford will oversee the inside linebackers and Dunn will instruct the tight ends.
"I'm excited and happy about the staff we've put together," Edsall said. "They have a tremendous amount of experience and achieved a lot of success in their coaching careers. They also have good teaching skills and the ability to recruit quality young men."
Crowton, the former head coach of BYU (2001-04) and Louisiana Tech (1996-98), spent the last four seasons as offensive coordinator at LSU.
Despite having three different starting quarterbacks in his tenure, the Tigers set a number of offensive records.
The Tigers averaged over 30 points a game in his first two seasons, including a school-record 38.6 points a contest in 2007. The LSU offense set 10 school records in 2007 en route to claiming the national title.
Crowton, who has also been an offensive coordinator with the Chicago Bears (1999-00) and Oregon Ducks (2005-06), has coached seven quarterbacks who have gone on to be selected in the NFL Draft.
He and Edsall were both members of the Boston College coaching staff from 1991-93.
"Gary has been successful at every stop as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, as well as head coach," Edsall said. "He brings a vast amount of knowledge having coached in both college and the NFL. I know he's looking forward to getting started with our offensive staff."
Crowton is one of three Maryland assistants who has served as a college head coach, joining defensive coordinator Don Brown (Plymouth State, 1993-95; Northeastern, 2000-03; UMass, 2004-08) and defensive line coach Greg Gattuso (Duquesne, 1993-04)
"To have that kind of experience on the staff brings a lot to the table," Edsall said. "We'll draw upon that to make us better."
A protégé of Crowton's at LSU, Dunn will be a full-time assistant coach for the first time in his career. He spent the last three seasons as a graduate offensive assistant with the Tigers who went 11-2 in 2010.
Dunn played quarterback and tight end for North Carolina from 2001-03 before spending four seasons on the Tar Heels staff. He served as a student assistant while finishing his undergraduate studies, became a quality control assistant and then a GA his final two years (2006-07) in Chapel Hill.
Bradford, who has coached in Conference USA, the Big 12 and Big Ten, gives the Terps another well-rounded, experienced assistant.
He has been a coordinator on both sides of the ball, spending the last three seasons as the defensive coordinator/secondary coach at Southern Mississippi.
The Golden Eagles rushing defense ranked No. 13 (113.0 yards per game) in the FBS in 2010. They were also No. 14 in third-down conversions (34 percent), No. 30 in turnovers gained (26) and tied for 26th in tackles for loss (6.7 pg).
In his second season as the defensive coordinator for Southern Miss, Bradford led an opportunistic defense that ended the season tied for 25th in the FBS in turnovers gained (27) and No. 25 in tackles for loss (6.8 pg).
Bradford was also a defensive coordinator at Lehigh (1994) and Louisiana Tech (1997-00) where he served under Crowton his final two seasons. He was also the co-offensive coordinator at BYU (2003-04).
In addition, the 1986 graduate of Southern Utah coached linebackers at Oklahoma State (2005-07) and defensive backs at Wisconsin (2000-02) and Middle Tennessee State (2002-03).
