Brandon Staley enters his first season as the Mocs’ defensive coordinator. The 2016 FootballScoop Division III National Coordinator of the Year, Staley spent the previous two seasons on Tom Arth’s staff at John Carroll University.
Staley oversaw a JCU defense that finished in the top 20 of five major categories in Division III in 2016 -- total defense (3rd, 218.0 ypg), scoring defense (4th, 12.6 ppg), third down percentage (7th, .257), passing defense (139.7 ypg) and rushing defense (13th, 78.3 ypg).
His 2015 unit ranked No. 14 in total defense (269.9), 12th in scoring defense (13.6) and ninth in passing yards allowed (154.6). Staley was also defensive coordinator at JCU in 2013, when he was the OAC co-Assistant Coach of the Year.
In between stints at John Carroll, Staley was the defensive coordinator at James Madison in 2014. There he helped the Dukes to a 9-4 record and the program’s first FCS playoff appearance in three years. JMU’s defense ranked 11th nationally, forcing 28 turnovers and 2.85 sacks per game.
Staley was a defensive graduate assistant at Tennessee in 2012, where he was in charge of inside linebackers and was a special teams assistant. Other coaching stops include Associate Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College (2010-11), assistant coach at the University of St. Thomas (2009) and graduate assistant at Northern Illinois University (2006-08).
After prepping at Perry High School in northeast Ohio, Staley played collegiately at Dayton and Mercyhurst. He guided Perry to a conference title and a quarterfinal round appearance in the OHSAA playoffs as a senior quarterback. He was a first team News-Herald, first team Plain Dealer, first team all-district and honorable mention All-Ohio honoree, as well as the Lake County Touchdown Club Offensive Player of the Year.
Staley and his wife, Amy, have two sons Colin and Will.
