| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1948-10-15)October 15, 1948 (age 76) Waldron, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1966–1969 | Oklahoma State |
| Position(s) | Linebacker |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1970 | Oklahoma State (GA) |
| 1971–1972 | Oklahoma State (LB) |
| 1973–1975 | SMU (LB) |
| 1976–1977 | North Carolina (LB) |
| 1978–1982 | Kansas State (AHC/DC) |
| 1983–1985 | Tennessee Tech |
| 1986–1987 | Wake Forest (AHC/DC) |
| 1988–1989 | Florida (DC) |
| 1989 | Florida (interim HC) |
| 1990–1991 | Notre Dame (AHC/DC) |
| 1992–1993 | Texas (AHC/ST) |
| 1994–1996 | Texas (AHC/DC) |
| 1997–2004 | Western Michigan |
| 2006–2007 | Texas A&M (DC) |
| 2007 | Texas A&M (interim HC) |
| 2017 | Nebraska (def. consultant) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 52–80 |
| Bowls | 0–2 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 2MAC West Division (1999–2000) | |
Gary Brent Darnell (born October 15, 1948) is an American formercollege football player and coach. He served as the head football coach atTennessee Technological University from 1983 to 1985 andWestern Michigan University from 1997 to 2004 and was interim head football coach at theUniversity of Florida for seven games in 1989 and atTexas A&M University for one game in 2007, compiling a career head coaching record of 52–80. Darnell had stints at adefensive coordinator atKansas State University,Wake Forest University, Florida, theUniversity of Notre Dame, theUniversity of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M.
A native ofArkansas, Darnell attendedOklahoma State University as a personal management major and played as alinebacker for theOklahoma State Cowboys football team. As a senior in 1969, he earned All-Big Eight Conference honors. Darnell also holds the Big 8 single-game tackle record of 27 tackles against Arkansas in 1969. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1969 and again remained with the Oklahoma State football team as agraduate assistant.
In 1971, he was hired on a full-time basis as the linebackers coach. He later joined the coaching staffs atSouthern Methodist University and theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill under the same position.
In 1978, Darnell became assistant head coach and defensive coordinator atKansas State University. Darnell and the new staff turned around a program that went 0–11 in 1977, taking them to theIndependence Bowl in 1982, Kansas State's first bowl appearance.
In 1986, Darnell joined the staff ofAl Groh atWake Forest University as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. He spent two years with theDemon Deacons before accepting the same position at theUniversity of Florida in 1988. In each of his two seasons at Florida, his defenses ranked third nationally and first in theSoutheastern Conference. In the middle of the 1989 season, he took as interim head coach afterGalen Hall was forced to resign, leading the Gators to a 3–4 record over the season's final seven games.
In 1990, he accepted a position underLou Holtz at theUniversity of Notre Dame as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. Darnell was replacingBarry Alvarez, who left to take the head coaching job at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison. He later joinedJohn Mackovic's staff at theUniversity of Texas at Austin as assistant head coach and special teams coordinator in 1992. Two years later, he moved from special teams to defensive coordinator, serving in that position through the 1996 season. He then moved on to become Western Michigan University's head coach in 1997.
Darnell was hired as the defensive coordinator atTexas A&M University by head coachDennis Franchione for the 2006 season. Franchione had previously served as Darnell's offensive coordinator at Tennessee Tech in 1983 and 1984. Inheriting a team that finished 107th in total defense and 97th in scoring defense, Darnell implemented a quick turnaround, with the 2006 team finishing 37th in total defense and 32nd in scoring defense.[1] A day after head coachDennis Franchione resigned, A&M athletic directorBill Byrne named Darnell the interim head coach. Darnell coached the Aggies in the 2007Alamo Bowl, which was Darnell's 12th bowl to coach.[2]
After his success at Kansas State, Darnell was hired as head coach atTennessee Technological University in 1983 where his success as a defensive coach was not duplicated. In his three years with Tennessee Tech, Darnell compiled a 3–29 record.
Darnell was hired in 1997 byWestern Michigan University as head coach. Inheriting a team that finished 2–9 in 1996, Darnell led a six-game turnaround to 8–3, the largest turnaround among NCAA teams in 1997. Western Michigan entered the 1998 season with a seven-game winning streak, the fourth-longest in the nation. The 1998 squad finished with a 7–4 overall record. In 1999, the Broncos clinched theMid-American Conference West Division title on their way to a 7–5 overall record. The following year, the Broncos repeated as West Division champions with the fourth-best scoring defense in the nation, were ranked as high as 27th in the national polls, and held an eight-game winning streak, the longest at Western Michigan in forty-one years. For his efforts, Darnell was named theMid-American Conference Coach of the Year in 2000.[3]
Following the 2000 season, Darnell became a top candidate for several head coaching positions atBCS conference schools, includingMissouri,North Carolina,Rutgers, andOklahoma State.[4][5] He ultimately signed a five-year extension to remain at WMU. Darnell's last four seasons at Western Michigan were less successful, with the team posting a combined 15–31 record and without a winning season. Darnell was fired after the 2004 season, and the remaining year left on his contract was bought out by the university.[6] He finished his eight-year tenure at Western Michigan with an overall record of 46–46. Darnell spent the 2005 season out of coaching.
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles(Ohio Valley Conference)(1983–1985) | |||||||||
| 1983 | Tennessee Tech | 2–8 | 2–5 | T–6th | |||||
| 1984 | Tennessee Tech | 0–11 | 0–7 | 8th | |||||
| 1985 | Tennessee Tech | 1–10 | 1–6 | 7th | |||||
| Tennessee Tech: | 3–29 | 3–18 | |||||||
| Florida Gators(Southeastern Conference)(1989) | |||||||||
| 1989 | Florida | 3–4[n 1] | 2–2[n 1] | T–4th | LFreedom | ||||
| Florida: | 3–4 | 2–2[7] | |||||||
| Western Michigan Broncos(Mid-American Conference)(1997–2004) | |||||||||
| 1997 | Western Michigan | 8–3 | 6–2 | 2nd(West) | |||||
| 1998 | Western Michigan | 7–4 | 5–3 | 3rd(West) | |||||
| 1999 | Western Michigan | 7–5 | 6–2 | 1st(West) | |||||
| 2000 | Western Michigan | 9–3 | 7–1 | 1st(West) | |||||
| 2001 | Western Michigan | 5–6 | 4–4 | 4th(West) | |||||
| 2002 | Western Michigan | 4–8 | 3–5 | 5th(West) | |||||
| 2003 | Western Michigan | 5–7 | 4–4 | 4th(West) | |||||
| 2004 | Western Michigan | 1–10 | 0–8 | 7th(West) | |||||
| Western Michigan: | 46–46 | 35–29 | |||||||
| Texas A&M Aggies(Big 12 Conference)(2007) | |||||||||
| 2007 | Texas A&M | 0–1[n 2] | [n 2] | [n 2] | LAlamo | ||||
| Texas A&M: | 0–1 | 0–0 | |||||||
| Total: | 52–80 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||