re: Official staff thread

Updated OP with the official hirings so far

LINK

LB coach

Charlie Harbison Joins Mizzou Football Coaching Staff
Veteran Coach Has 20 Years of Experience in the SEC, ACC

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Head Football Coach Eliah Drinkwitz has named Charlie Harbison as the first addition to his brand new coaching staff at the University of Missouri. Harbison joins the Mizzou staff in the role of Associate Head Coach/Defense. Details of Harbison's contract with Mizzou will be released, along with his specific duties on the defensive side of the ball, pending completion of the human resources process.

Harbison is a veteran defensive coach with 29 years of collegiate experience under his belt, including 13 seasons in the Southeastern Conference with four different programs. He spent the 2019 season with Drinkwitz as Associate Head Coach/Cornerbacks at Appalachian State, where the Mountaineers won the Sun Belt Conference Championship with a 12-1 record and earned a No. 20 ranking in the final regular-season polls.

App State's defense was a key reason for its title run this season, as the Mountaineers ranked in the top 30 nationally in numerous major statistical categories, including: third down defense (14th NCAA/1st Sun Belt – 31.4%), pass efficiency defense (18th NCAA/1st Sun Belt – 114.60), interceptions (19th NCAA/1st Sun Belt – 13), scoring defense (22nd NCAA/2nd Sun Belt – 20.2 avg.) and total defense (26th NCAA/1st Sun Belt – 335.9 avg.).

Twice named one of the nation's top 25 recruiters by Rivals (2005, 2010), Harbison has been part of teams that have qualified for six conference championship games and 19 bowl appearances, including the BCS National Championship Game, two Orange Bowls, two Sugar Bowls and two Cotton Bowls. He's spent 20 years combined in the SEC and ACC with stops at Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, LSU and Mississippi State. He's also got one year of NFL experience, as he spent the 2018 season as defensive backs coach for the Arizona Cardinals, before joining Drinkwitz's staff at App State in 2019. At Arizona, Harbison coached Pro Bowler Patrick Peterson as the Cardinals' defense was the league's fourth-best in pass defense, allowing 203.9 yards per game.

"Charlie brings a wealth of experience with him to the defensive side of the football, having coached at the highest levels including the SEC and the NFL," said Drinkwitz. "He's an outstanding man of character who knows what it means to mentor players both in football and in life."

Harbison spent three seasons (2015-17) as co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach at Louisiana, and prior to that was on staff for two seasons (2013-14) at Auburn as co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach, helping the Tigers win the 2013 SEC Championship and advance to the BCS title game. In 2013, Auburn had the second-biggest turnaround in college football history at the time, with an eight-game improvement from the year before.

"I'm very excited to continue working with Coach Drink and grateful for the opportunity to join the Mizzou family," said Harbison. "He is a great coach to work for, he's outstanding with the x's and o's, and he's even better with the staff and the athletes on a personal level. He has this air about him that makes people want to play for him and coach for him. Coach Drink has been a blessing to me and my family, and I know he'll be a blessing for Mizzou," he said.

In all, Harbison has been on coaching staffs that have won five conference championships, while appearing in six conference championship games overall. In addition to this year's Sun Belt title game victory, Harbison was part of SEC champion teams in 1999 (Alabama), 2001 (LSU) and 2013 (Auburn), while also being on the winning side of the 2011 ACC title game with Clemson.

A native of Shelby, N.C., and graduate of Crest High School, Harbison went to Auburn after his second coaching stint at Clemson (2009-12), working as co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach. He helped the Tigers to back-to-back 10-win seasons, the 2011 ACC Championship (Clemson's first conference title in 20 years) and an Orange Bowl appearance.

At Clemson, he tutored cornerback Coty Sensabaugh, who had 14 passes defended in 2011 and was drafted by the Tennessee Titans. Harbison helped Clemson to a top 25 ranking and the ACC Atlantic Division title in 2009. That season, Clemson had 21 interceptions, the fifth-most in school history and tied for fifth-most in the nation, and finished seventh in the nation in pass defense.

Before going to Clemson, he spent two seasons at Mississippi State (2007-08), the second of which he worked as defensive coordinator while also coaching safeties. Harbison had two different tenures as an assistant at Alabama (1998-2000, 2003-06), where he coached the Crimson Tide's defensive backs in his initial stay and helped Alabama to the 1999 SEC Championship and appearances in the 1998 Music City Bowl and the 2000 Orange Bowl. Two of his pupils, Fernando Bryant (1999) and Tony Dixon (2000), were taken in the first and second rounds of the NFL Draft, respectively. In his second stint with the Crimson Tide, Harbison worked with the wide receivers and helped Alabama to three bowl appearances.

Between the Alabama assignments, Harbison coached defensive backs at LSU (2001-02) under head coach Nick Saban and helped the Tigers win the 2001 SEC Championship and play in the 2002 Sugar Bowl and 2003 Cotton Bowl. Corey Webster, who played his first season as a cornerback under Harbison, finished second on the school's all-time career interceptions list.

He served as defensive backs coach in his first stop at Clemson (1995-97) as the Tigers played in three consecutive bowl games. At Clemson, Harbison mentored 2018 Hall of Fame inductee and nine-time Pro Bowl selection Brian Dawkins, helping him earn All-America honors while also leading the ACC in interceptions in 1995.

Harbison also coached the secondary at UTEP (1994) and twice worked at his alma mater, Gardner-Webb, coaching wide receivers (1992-93) and defensive backs (1984-85). In addition to his collegiate coaching experience, Harbison worked in both the Arena Football League as defensive coordinator with the Charlotte Rage (1993), and in the World League of American Football with the Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks in 1991 as defensive backs coach.

A standout defensive back at Gardner-Webb (1978-81) who had 11 career interceptions, Harbison signed with the Buffalo Bills as a rookie free agent in 1982 before spending two years (1983-84) with the USFL's Boston/New Orleans Breakers.

He graduated from Gardner-Webb with a degree in business administration in 1995. Harbison and his wife, Tammy, have three sons, Charlie, Stedman and Masai, and a daughter, Msiba.

A couple more.
Director of opps
TE probably

Assuming Gibbs, Walters and Haley stay Drink still needs to add a QB, RB, WR and OL coach.

D.J. SMITH
TITLE Outside Linebackers

EMAIL smithdd3@appstate.edu

Appalachian State alum D.J. Smith was named the team's outside linebackers coach in February 2018, and 2019 will be his second season coaching that group.

In helping App State win the inaugural Sun Belt Championship Game and win a fourth straight bowl game in 2018, Smith coached a group that included Akeem Davis-Gaither, who led Sun Belt players from bowl-bound teams in tackles per game.

Smith amassed 525 tackles as an App State linebacker from 2007-10 and played four NFL seasons. He returned to Boone in 2016 as the director of recruiting relations and worked in 2017 as a senior defensive analyst.

A Charlotte native, Smith started the final nine games of App State's 2007 national championship run as a true freshman and had more than 120 tackles in each of his four college seasons, including two in which he earned All-America recognition. He finished his career with 50 straight starts and ranks second behind only Dexter Coakley on the career tackles list at Appalachian.

After being a sixth-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers in 2011, he made three starts in 16 games as a rookie and started six more games the following year. He totaled 82 tackles, two sacks and one interception with the Packers before spending time with the San Diego Chargers, Houston Texans and Carolina Panthers from 2013-14.

A graduate of Independence High School in Charlotte, Smith is the son of Pamela Rice and Darryl Smith Sr. He has a son, Carter.

SMITH AT A GLANCE
Coaching Experience
2016: Appalachian State (Director of Recruiting Relations)
2017: Appalachian State (Senior Defensive Analyst)
2018-present: Appalachian State (Outside Linebackers)

Playing Experience
2007-10: Appalachian State (LB)
2011-12: Green Bay Packers (LB)
2013: Houston Texans (LB)
2014: Carolina Panthers (LB)

Alma Mater: Appalachian State, 2010
Hometown: Charlotte, N.C.
Birthdate: Feb. 24, 1989
Twitter: @CoachDjSmith

ANDY LUTZ
TITLE Assistant Athletics Director for Football Operations

EMAIL lutzaj@appstate.edu

Appalachian State head football coach Eliah Drinkwitz added veteran administrator Andy Lutz as Assistant Athletics Director for Football Operations to his first Mountaineer staff on Jan. 11, 2019.

A college football athletics administrator since 1991, Lutz arrives in Boone after six seasons as a member of Georgia Tech's football staff, including the last four as director of player personnel. The 2014 Yellow Jackets were ACC runners-up and won the Orange Bowl over Mississippi State.

No stranger to championship and postseason success, Lutz has been part of staffs that have won conference titles (Auburn – SEC, Nevada – Big West) and division titles (Georgia Tech – ACC Coastal, Auburn – SEC West). He has contributed to a total of eight bowl wins at three different schools, including wins in the Orange, Sugar and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

Lutz served as assistant athletics director for football operations at Texas Tech from 2010-12. In that role, he oversaw all facets of Texas Tech football's recruiting efforts as well as the day-to-day operations of the Red Raider program. The 2010 squad won eight games and beat Northwestern in the Ticket City Bowl.

From 1998-2008, Lutz was the assistant to the head football coach at Auburn, where his duties included day-to-day operations for recruiting and personnel. During that time, he contributed to a 13-0 SEC Championship season in 2004 that finished with a win over Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl, as well as an 11-2 season in 2006 that culminated with a Cotton Bowl win over Nebraska.

Before his decade-long stint at Auburn, Lutz spent two years (1996-98) at Ole Miss as assistant to the athletics director for recruiting, helping coordinate the recruiting processes for all Rebels' sports. Lutz was promoted to that position after a year as a graduate assistant at Ole Miss.

Lutz began his collegiate administration career in 1991 at his alma mater, the University of the Pacific. After three years at Pacific, he was a graduate assistant at Nevada in 1994.

From 1991-2001, Lutz also worked outside the college athletics' arena as clinic director for the Frank Glazier Football Clinics.

Lutz holds bachelor's (communications/public relations, 1991) and master's (educational counseling, 1994) degrees from Pacific. He was a three-year football letterman for the Tigers from 1989-91 after beginning his collegiate career at San Joaquin Delta (Calif.) College, where he was a first-team all-conference and second-team all-state defensive back as a freshman in 1987.

He and his wife, Brandy, have one daughter, Aberle.

Woods has changed his Twitter account to a Mizzou picture. Looks official to me. I wonder if he will coach all receivers or just TEs..

I’m beginning to think Walters will be the DC. It would be pretty weird to be hiring all of the defensive Assistants without DC input if not

That wouldn’t make a lot of sense.

Walters has money guaranteed for another 3 years at around 800k i think. Since odom is not going to be head coach, walters has lost bargaining power to demand being DC. drink is keeping him around until at least next week(NSD) and will probably name him some sort of DB coach or at best co DC. He would have already announced him as DC if that was his plan. If walters quits, they don’t have to eat that money. Somebody else may hire him away. They might give dooley some sort of demotion for the same reason, although I don’t see anyone hiring him away.
I really wish we were keeping Hargreaves though.