| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | Livonia, Michigan, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1974–1977 | Albion |
| Position | Center |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1978 | Bowling Green (GA) |
| 1979–1980 | Michigan (GA) |
| 1981–1982 | Ball State (OL) |
| 1983–1991 | Colorado (DL) |
| 1992–1996 | Northwestern (DC/LB) |
| 1997–2000 | Maryland |
| 2001–2011 | Penn State (LB) |
| 2011 | Penn State (co-DC/LB) |
| 2012–2013 | Penn State (LB) |
| 2014–2020 | Air Force (ILB) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 15–29 |
Ron Vanderlinden is a retired Americancollege football coach. Vanderlinden was most recently thelinebackers coach atAir Force. He served as the head football coach at theUniversity of Maryland, College Park from 1997 to 2000, compiling a record of 15–29.
Vanderlinden is known for hisrecruiting ability on theEast Coast and within his native state ofMichigan.[1]
A native ofLivonia, Michigan, Vanderlinden is one of seven children born to parents Pete and Mary Vanderlinden. His father was one of 14 children born toDutch immigrants ofFlemish descent.[2] Vanderlinden played high school football atDivine Child High School inDearborn, Michigan, where he was a member of two state championship teams. His high school coach wasBill McCartney, who later became the only high school coach ever hired byUniversity of Michigan coaching legendBo Schembechler. Vanderlinden reunited with McCartney as a coach after his playing career ended.
In college, Vanderlinden played football as a four-year startingcenter atNCAA Division IIIAlbion College and twice earnedAll-MIAA conference honors. He was part of the 1976 Albion Britons football team that achieved a perfect 9–0 record. Both the 1976 and 1977 teams have since been inducted into the Albion College Hall of Fame.[3][4]
In 1978, he started his career as a graduate assistant atBowling Green underDenny Stolz and also coached as a graduate assistant atMichigan underBo Schembechler. His first full-time coaching position was withBall State, where he served under head coachDwight Wallace for two seasons. From 1983 to 1991, Vanderlinden was a defensive line coach atColorado under head coachBill McCartney, reuniting him with his high school football head coach. McCartney had also been an assistant at Michigan with Vanderlinden. During their time inBoulder, Colorado won the1990 National Championship. From 1992 to 1996, Vanderlinden served as assistant head coach anddefensive coordinator atNorthwestern. There he played a part in the reversal of fortunes of a struggling football program into a two-timeBig Ten champion.[5] Under his guidance, linebackerPat Fitzgerald was named the 1995 and '96Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, a two-timeAll-American, and as the winner of theBednarik Award andNagurski Award.[2]
In 1997, Vanderlinden was hired as the head coach of theMaryland Terrapins, a team without a bowl game and only one winning season since 1990. In both the 1999 and 2000 seasons, Maryland narrowly missed achieving a winning season and bowl game bid by losing their finale and ended both years with a 5-6 record.
Vanderlinden's staff recruited players who would be instrumental in the team's meteoricrise in 2001 to an ACC championship, aBowl Championship Series game, and a top-ten final ranking. Some of these players included linebackerE.J. Henderson, quarterbackShaun Hill, and wide receiverGuilian Gary. Also during Vanderlinden's tenure, running backLamont Jordan set the school record for single-game rushing with 306 yards.[5] Vanderlinden was fired after the 2000 season, finishing with a 15-29 record overall.[6]
Vanderlinden joined thePenn State Nittany Lions football team in 2001 as linebackers coach underJoe Paterno, where he oversaw the school's traditional "Linebacker U." He had helped develop a linebacker unit that includedAll-American 2005Butkus and 2005/2006Bednarik award winnerPaul Posluszny, a consensus All-American, 2003, All-Big Ten linebackerGino Capone, and 2006 All-American and 2007 Bednarik Award winnerDan Connor.[5][7] He has also recruited several prominent players such asAllen Robinson,Sean Lee andGerald Hodges.
On November 10, 2011Tom Bradley announced that Vanderlinden anddefensive line coachLarry Johnson would serve as co-defensive coordinators.
In 2012, Vanderlinden was retained as linebackers coach under new coachBill O'Brien.[8]
After parting ways with the Penn State program following the 2013 season, he joinedTroy Calhoun's staff at Air Force as linebackers coach, and noted that he had no hard feelings for Penn State norBill O'Brien.[9]
Vanderlinden and his wife, the former Lisa Eckstrom, have one son, Reid, and daughter, Chelsea. Reid is a 2013 graduate ofJohns Hopkins University and was a four-year football letterman. He later earned a master's degree atPenn State. Chelsea is an elementary school teacher.
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland Terrapins(Atlantic Coast Conference)(1997–2000) | |||||||||
| 1997 | Maryland | 2–9 | 1–7 | 8th | |||||
| 1998 | Maryland | 3–8 | 1–7 | T–8th | |||||
| 1999 | Maryland | 5–6 | 2–6 | T–8th | |||||
| 2000 | Maryland | 5–6 | 3–5 | T–6th | |||||
| Maryland: | 15–29 | 7–25 | |||||||
| Total: | 15–29 | ||||||||