| Detroit Lions | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Defensive line coach |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | (1969-06-24)June 24, 1969 (age 55) Humboldt, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Humboldt |
| College: | Tennessee |
| Undrafted: | 1992 |
| Career history | |
As a player: | |
| |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
As a coach: | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Coaching profile atPro Football Reference | |
Kacy Rodgers (born June 24, 1969) is anAmerican football coach who currently serves as the run game coordinator anddefensive line coach for theDetroit Lions of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theUniversity of Tennessee and was a part of thePittsburgh Steelers practice squad in the NFL in 1992. Since then, Rodgers has served as an assistant coach at the college and professional levels.
Rodgers playedhigh school football for and graduated fromHumboldt High School inHumboldt, Tennessee. He and wife, Marcella Cruze, have one son,Kacy II, a former professional football player for theNew York Jets and current Real Estate mogul.
Rodgers then attended theUniversity of Tennessee, where he was a four-yearletterman for theTennessee Volunteers football team from 1988 to 1991. He was an honorable mentionAll-SEC selection. During his time as alinebacker anddefensive end, he won two SEC championships and played in the1990 Cotton Bowl Classic,1991 Sugar Bowl and the1992 Fiesta Bowl.
Rodgers signed with thePittsburgh Steelers as anundrafted free agent in 1992. He played for theShreveport Pirates of theCanadian Football League in 1994.
Rodgers began his coaching career in 1994 as defensive line coach for theUniversity of Tennessee at Martin. He held the title for three seasons before adding the title of assistanthead coach in 1997.
After his time at Tennessee-Martin, Rodgers served one season as defensive line coach for theNortheast Louisiana University in 1998.
In 1999, Rodgers became defensive line coach atMiddle Tennessee State University. He held the title for three seasons and was also the assistant head coach for the final two. In 2001, the Blue Raiders posted an 8–3 record and were co-champions of theSun Belt Conference. Also that season, the team tied for first in the conference with 27sacks.
Rodgers then served one season as defensive line coach for theUniversity of Arkansas in 2002. The Razorbacks defense ranked second in the SEC and 18th in the nation, going 9–5 and earning anSEC Championship berth.
In 2003, Arkansas alum andDallas Cowboys ownerJerry Jones hired Rodgers as the team'sdefensive tackles coach. He held the title for two seasons before serving the next three as defensive line coach. Defensive tackleLa'Roi Glover earned threePro Bowl selections under Rodgers' tutelage from 2003 to 2005. The Cowboys' defense also ranked in the top 10 in the NFL during four of Rodgers' five seasons with the team. During his final season in 2007, they ranked No. 6 in the NFL and allowed just 94.6 rushing yards per game.
In 2008, Rodgers joined theMiami Dolphins as defensive line coach under first-year head coachTony Sparano, replacingTravis Jones andDiron Reynolds from 2007. He would churn out three pro bowlers inRandy Starks DT,Paul Soliai DT andCameron Wake DE while with the Dolphins. Rodgers had previously worked with Sparano in Dallas the previous five seasons while also serving under former Dolphins Vice PresidentBill Parcells during his tenure as Cowboys head coach from 2003 to 2006.
Rodgers was named theNew York Jets' defensive coordinator on January 23, 2015.[1]
In 2019, Rodgers was named defensive line coach of theTampa Bay Buccaneers, a position he held for three seasons. He was part of the coaching staff when the Buccaneers wonSuper Bowl LV.[2] After the 2021 season, followingBruce Arians’ resignation and the promotion of defensive coordinatorTodd Bowles to head coach, Rodgers was named run game coordinator for the Buccaneers. As Bowles retained his defensive play calling and coaching duties, he did not hire an official defensive coordinator, leaving Rodgers as one of two top defensive assistant coaches for Tampa Bay, along with pass game coordinatorLarry Foote.[3]
On January 23, 2025, Rodgers was hired to serve as the defensive line coach for theDetroit Lions.[4]