University of Maryland Athletics

Head Coach Michael Locksley promoted long-time coaching veteran Ron Zook to Associate Head coach/Special Teams Coordinator/Outside Linebackers Coach on February 16, 2021. 

Zook, who has 43 seasons of coaching experience at both the collegiate and professional levels, has been a Senior Analyst for the Terrapins for Locksley’s first two seasons in 2019-20. 

Possessor of a vast résumé of both collegiate and professional coaching experience, Zook has been the head coach at University of Florida and University of Illinois and held coordinator roles in the NFL for the Pittsburgh Steelers, New Orleans Saints and most recently as the special teams coordinator for the Green Bay Packers from 2015-18. 

Zook and Locksley formed a relationship when Locksley served as Zook’s running backs coach/run game coordinator at Florida in 2003-04 and offensive coordinator at Illinois from 2005-08 where in 2007 the two led the Fighting Illini to a 9-4 record and the program’s first Rose Bowl berth since 1983.

In his four seasons as Green Bay’s special teams coordinator, Zook helped propel the Packers to two playoff appearances and the 2016 NFC Championship game.

In 2017, Zook tutored undrafted rookie P Justin Vogel, who ranked No. 7 in the NFL in net punting average (41.6) and was named an alternate for the Pro Bowl. Green Bay’s special teams continued to excel in punt coverage and punt returns under Zook in 2017 as the Packers finished No. 6 in the NFL in opponent punt return average (5.7). In Zook’s four seasons, the Packers ranked No. 2 in the league in opponent punt return average (5.7). 

Zook also helped Green Bay’s all-time leading scorer, K Mason Crosby, become just the third player in NFL history to register 100-plus points in 11 or more consecutive seasons (Jason Elam, 16; Adam Vinatieri, 13), eclipsing that mark in each of Zook’s four seasons at the helm. 

Prior to his time in Green Bay, Zook gained 10 years of experience as a head coach in the college ranks, first at the University of Florida (2002-04) and more recently at the University of Illinois (2005-11).

Zook spent seven years on campus at Illinois, taking over the program in 2005 and earning Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2007 after he led the Fighting Illini to a 9-4 record and the program’s first Rose Bowl berth since 1983. That season marked the eighth nine-win campaign in school history, and the seven-win improvement from 2006 was the best in program 
annals.

Impressively, 17 Illinois players coached or recruited by Zook were drafted into the NFL between 2006-12, a number that included five first-round choices and four second round picks.

Prior to Illinois, Zook made his debut as a collegiate head coach during a three-year stint at Florida, a program with which he had previously enjoyed success as an assistant under head coach Steve Spurrier during the early 1990s. During Zook’s tenure, the school compiled a 25-15 overall record, including a 16-8 mark in Southeastern Conference play. Florida reached a bowl game in each season under his direction, including a second consecutive Outback Bowl in
2003, when it earned a share of the SEC East Division title.

That season, the Gators faced the second-toughest schedule in the nation, a slate that included seven ranked opponents, and reeled off wins over ranked teams in three consecutive
weeks for the first time in school history.

In 2004, Zook’s final season, the Gators finished atop the SEC in six different team categories, including scoring offense, total offense and passing offense. That year, they also became just the second team in the history of the storied conference to boast the league’s leading rusher, passer, receiver and scorer in the same season.

Zook also held a reputation for being an excellent recruiter at the college level. In his time as head coach at Florida, he signed 10 All-Americans in three years, after the school had managed a total of 20 in the previous 12 years.

His 2003 recruiting class was ranked in the top three nationally and featured eight future NFL draft picks, including first-rounders Jarvis Moss and Reggie Nelson.

That legacy as a recruiter was further cemented two years following his departure, when in 2006, 22 of the 24 starters on Florida’s BCS National Championship team were players who had been recruited to Florida by Zook.

Prior to making his return to Florida, Zook enjoyed six years as an assistant in the NFL. His final two seasons came in 2000-01 when he served as the defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints. The Saints defense led the NFL with 119 sacks over the course of his two seasons, 22 more than the next-closest team, including a team-record 66 in 2000.

In 1999, he coached defensive backs for the Kansas City Chiefs. That season, he tutored CB James Hasty, who tied for the NFL lead with a career-high seven INTs and was named to the Pro Bowl. The Chiefs ranked No. 5 in the NFL with 25 INTs that season and tied for No. 2 with five INTTDs. The 25 INTs were the most by the club since it posted 31 during the 1986 season.

Before his stint in Kansas City, Zook spent three seasons (1996-98) as the special teams coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In 1997, Zook oversaw a Steelers’ kickoff return unit led by returner Will Blackwell that ranked No. 6 in the NFL with a 24.7-yard average. That same season, he guided veteran Norm Johnson to the fourth-best field-goal percentage in the league, an 88.0 mark that ultimately stood as the second highest of the specialist’s 18-year career.

Before making that initial foray into the NFL, Zook spent 18 years as a college assistant, earning his first opportunity at Murray State (1978-80), before making stops at Cincinnati (1981-82), Kansas (1983), Tennessee (1984-86), Virginia Tech (1987), Ohio State (1988-90) and his first stint at Florida (1991-95).

A three-year letterman and captain as a defensive back at Miami of Ohio, Zook played on teams that posted a 32-1-1 record during his career and won three consecutive Mid-American Conference titles (1973-75). He earned a degree in comprehensive science.

Zook was born in Loudonville, Ohio. He and his wife, Denise, have two daughters, Jacquelyn and Casey.