A veteran of the collegiate and professional ranks, Kevin Lempa is in his fourth season as an assistant coach with the Maryland Terrapins.
Lempa coached the entire defensive backfield his first two seasons in College Park and now overees the safeties.
Defensive coordinator Don Brown, who is in his second season, handles the cornerback position as he has throughout his career.
In his first season in College Park, Lempa helped direct an impressive pass defense as the Terps yielded just 210.7 yards per game.
He used a talented group of veterans and newcomers, including Christian Varner, Isaiah Gardner, J.J. Justice, Kevin Barnes, Anthony Wiseman and Nolan Carroll, to help the Terps rank No. 33 nationally in pass defense.
Barnes and Gardner were among the league leaders in pass coverage. Those two cornerbacks each ranked tied for fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference in passes defended, while Barnes was tied for seventh in interceptions.
In 2008, Maryland had two of the top defenders in the ACC. Carroll averaged 0.80 passes defended per game which ranked third in the league. Wiseman was tied for fourth in the same category (0.77 pg).
Barnes, despite missing the second half of the season with a shoulder injury, was taken in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. Wiseman was again atop the league in pass defense last season, ranking fourth (0.75 per game) in pass breakups.
No matter what the combination of his secondary, Lempa has over two decades grooming defensive backs.
Prior to coming to Maryland, Lempa spent four seasons (2003-06) as the secondary coach with Boston College, where he led one of the top units in both the Big East and ACC.
The Eagles were among the nation's best in picking off passes in 2006. BC's 21 interceptions were tied for third nationally, trailing only Western Michigan (24) and Wake Forest (22). They also had 17 interceptions in 2004 which led the Big East.
Two of his defensive backs - cornerback DeJuan Tribble and strong safety Ryan Glasper - were All-ACC performers in 2006.
Tribble's 0.54 interceptions per game in 2006 were tied for eighth nationally, helping BC rank 34th in total defense (310.9 yards per game) and 14th in scoring defense (15.7 points per game).
Prior to his second stint at BC (he was at the school as an assistant from 1981-90), Lempa was the defensive coordinator at the University of Hawai'i from 2000-02.
During Lempa's tenure, Hawai'i placed high nationally in several defensive categories. The 2001 team finished the year 9-3 and put four players on the All-Western Athletic Conference team. The 2002 team went 10-4 and played in the ConAgra Foods Hawai'i Bowl.
Lempa spent three seasons (1997-99) in the NFL as a defensive assistant with the San Diego Chargers. San Diego had one of the better defenses in the NFL during that period and led the league in yards allowed (263.0 pg) in 1998.
Lempa is a 1974 graduate of Southern Connecticut State University, where he was a two-year starter at wide receiver.
Before serving on the Chargers' staff, he was the defensive coordinator at Dartmouth College (1991-96) where he coached three All-New England/ECAC defensive backs.
He also spent four years (1977-80) at the University of Maine with former BC coach Jack Bicknell before the two moved on to Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Lempa went to four bowl games during his first 10 years at BC, including the 1985 Cotton Bowl. Overall, he has coached in 11 bowl games, including each of the last seven seasons (four with Boston College, two with Maryland and one with Hawaii).
The Eagles went to the 2006 Meineke Car Care Bowl, the 2005 MPC Computers Bowl, the 2005 Continental Tire Bowl and the 2003 Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl.
Lempa has a master's degree from the University of Maine (1978). He and his wife Sara, have two grown children, Christopher and Tara.
The Lempa File:
Personal
Date of Birth: July 17, 1952
Hometown: Hartford, Conn.
Alma Mater: Southern Connecticut State, 1974
Coaching Experience
Maryland 2009-pr.: Assistant Coach - Safeties
2007-08: Assistant Coach - Secondary
Boston College 2003-06: Assistant Coach - Secondary
University of Hawai'i 2000-02: Assistant Coach - Defensive Coordinator
San Diego Chargers 1997-99: Defensive Assistant - Defensive Backs, Defensive Line
Dartmouth College 1991-96: Assistant Coach - Defensive Coordinator, Defensive Backs
Boston College 1981-90: Assistant Coach - Outside Linebackers, Punters/Special Teams
University of Maine 1977-80: Assistant Coach - Defensive Backs
Wesleyan University 1976: Assistant Coach - Wide Receivers
Southern Connecticut State 1974-75: Assistant coach - Wide Receivers
Playing Experience
Southern Connecticut State 1970-73: Wide receiver
Recruiting Areas
Maryland (Kent, Queen Anne's, Caroline and Talbot counties), Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Upstate New York, and Eastern and Central Pennsylvania.
