 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1956-02-29)February 29, 1956 (age 69) Tucson, Arizona, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1974 | Colorado Mesa |
| 1975–1977 | Northern Colorado |
| Position | Wide receiver |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1978–1980 | Ellicott HS (CO) |
| 1981–1984 | Weber State (TE/ST) |
| 1985 | Weber State (LB) |
| 1986 | Weber State (WR/TE) |
| 1987–1990 | Wyoming (WR) |
| 1991 | Utah State (LB) |
| 1992–1998 | Northwestern (WR) |
| 1999–2000 | Colorado (WR) |
| 2001–2002 | Bowling Green (AHC/OC) |
| 2003–2008 | Bowling Green |
| 2009 | Virginia (OC) |
| 2010 | Las Vegas Locomotives (TE) |
| 2011–2012 | Wyoming (OC/QB) |
| 2013–2014 | New Mexico State (OC/QB) |
| 2015–2021 | Colorado Mines |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 103–45 (college) |
| Bowls | 2–1 |
| Tournaments | 4–4 (NCAA D-II playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 4RMAC (2016, 2018, 2019, 2021) | |
Gregg Brandon (born February 29, 1956) is an Americancollege football coach and former player. He was most recently the head football coach at theColorado School of Mines, a position he had held from 2015 until his retirement after the 2021 season.[1] Prior to that, he was theoffensive coordinator atNew Mexico State University and coached tight ends in theUnited Football League (UFL) for theLas Vegas Locomotives. He also spent two years as the offensive coordinator at theUniversity of Wyoming and was offensive coordinator for theVirginia Cavaliers for the duration of the 2009 season. He was head coach for theBowling Green Falcons, but was fired following the conclusion of the2008 season, after six years at the helm, which included three bowl appearances and shares of two division titles.[2] Brandon had previously been an assistant coach and offensive coordinator at Bowling Green under head coachUrban Meyer before Meyer left for theUniversity of Utah in 2003.
In2024, he will be Head Coach for theCologne Centurions in theEuropean League of Football.[3]
Brandon played football atAir Academy High School inColorado Springs, Colorado. He went on to compete at the collegiate level as both a defensive back and wide receiver atColorado Mesa University (1974) andUniversity of Northern Colorado (1975–1977). He graduated from Northern Colorado in 1978 with a bachelor's degree in education.
Brandon began his coaching career as head football coach atEllicott High School inEllicott, Colorado. He spent three seasons there, 1978 to 1980, before joining the college ranks atWeber State University, underMike Price, where he coached the next six seasons, 1981 to 1986. He coached the tight ends and special teams in his first four seasons, the linebackers in his fifth year and the receivers and tight ends during his final year in Ogden.
In 1987 was then named receivers coach atWyoming, where he worked the next four years, 1987 to 1990. During his tenure with head coachPaul Roach, the Cowboys posted a 35–15 record, including a 16–0 run inWestern Athletic Conference play in 1987 and 1988, and played in three bowls (1987 Holiday Bowl,1988 Holiday Bowl, and1990 Copper Bowl). In 1991, he returned to the state of Utah, where he coached the linebackers for one season atUtah State.
The following year, Brandon joined theNorthwestern staff as receivers coach. He was also Northwestern's recruiting coordinator for his last two seasons there (1997–1998). In his seven seasons at Northwestern, Brandon assembled an extremely talented group of receivers, includingD'Wayne Bates, the second all-time leading receiver in Big Ten history. Bates was a semifinalist for theBiletnikoff Award and an All-America candidate. Brandon returned to the West, spending two seasons atColorado underGary Barnett, where he coached the receivers and kickoff return units both years and was the team's passing-game coordinator in 2000 and recruiting coordinator in 1999.
Brandon joined the Falcons as an assistant head coach and offensive coordinator following the 2000 season under head coachUrban Meyer. Following Meyer's departure toUtah in 2002, Gregg Brandon was named the 16th head football coach in Bowling Green's history.
In his first season as Bowling Green's head coach, Brandon lead the Falcons to an 11–3 record, a national ranking. and an appearance in the2003 MAC Championship Game, where they lost theMiami RedHawks atDoyt Perry Stadium. The Falcons were invited to a bowl game, defeatingNorthwestern, 28–24 at theMotor City Bowl atFord Field inDetroit, Michigan.
The following season, Brandon went 9–3 including taking the Falcons to a second consecutive bowl game, defeatingMemphis 52–35 at the2004 GMAC Bowl inMobile, Alabama. The Falcons finished 6–5 in 2005 after losing a hard-fought game against arch rival, Toledo in multiple overtimes, a game that had the Falcons won would have sent them to their second MAC Championship and then potentially to a bowl game for the third straight year.
Brandon suffered his first and only losing season in 2006, finishing 4–8 including losses to rivalsKent State, Miami (OH), and Toledo, as well as becoming the first team to lose toTemple in 20-games. Brandon's Falcons put the prior season behind them as they posted an 8–5 record during their2007 campaign earning a share of the MAC East Division title, but missing out on the opportunity to play in the MAC Championship game due to a tiebreaker. Brandon led the team to its third bowl under his tenure, losing toTulsa, 63–7, in theGMAC Bowl.
Coming into the2008 season, the Falcons were picked to be the beast of the MAC East and were projected to reach the MAC Championship Game as well as their second straight bowl game. However, the Falcons had a disappointing campaign, going 6–6. Following the Falcons double-overtime loss in their home finale againstBuffalo, Brandon showed irritation with the fans for their poor attendance at the game as it had championship implications. Despite being bowl eligible and winning their first road contest at arch rival Toledo since 1994, Brandon was fired by athletic director Greg Christopher after six years as Bowling Green's head coach and posting a 44–30 record.[2]
On December 18, 2008, Brandon accepted the position of offensive coordinator at the University of Virginia, replacingMike Groh (son of then current Virginia head coach,Al Groh), who stepped down a week before Brandon's hiring.[4] Brandon had been named a leading candidate for the position soon after Groh's resignation.[5]
On December 29, 2014, Brandon became the head football coach of theColorado School of Mines.[1] Brandon is the first ever School of Mines coach to lead the team to the National Semifinals in Division 2.[citation needed]
In 2021, Brandon was accused of barging into a civil engineering lecture by professor Ning Lu with a group and harassing the professor and nearly 100 students by blowing a whistle, turning off the projector, and shouting at everyone to get out so the team could use the room. An HR representative and the school's sports director, David Hasburg, later apologized, in person, to Lu's class for the incident. Brandon retained his position.[6]
Brandon announced his retirement as head coach in January 2022.[7]
Brandon is married to the former Robyn Mitchell and has two sons.[citation needed]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches/AFCA# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowling Green Falcons(Mid-American Conference)(2003–2008) | |||||||||
| 2003 | Bowling Green | 11–3 | 7–2 | 1st(West) | WMotor City | 23 | 23 | ||
| 2004 | Bowling Green | 9–3 | 6–2 | 3rd(West) | WGMAC | ||||
| 2005 | Bowling Green | 6–5 | 5–3 | 2nd(East) | |||||
| 2006 | Bowling Green | 4–8 | 3–5 | 4th(East) | |||||
| 2007 | Bowling Green | 8–5 | 6–2 | T–1st(East) | LGMAC | ||||
| 2008 | Bowling Green | 6–6 | 4–4 | T–2nd(East) | |||||
| Bowling Green: | 44–30 | 33–20 | |||||||
| Colorado Mines Orediggers(Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference)(2015–2021) | |||||||||
| 2015 | Colorado Mines | 8–3 | 6–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 2016 | Colorado Mines | 10–3 | 8–2 | T–1st | LNCAA Division II Second Round | 15 | |||
| 2017 | Colorado Mines | 7–4 | 7–3 | 3rd | |||||
| 2018 | Colorado Mines | 10–2 | 9–1 | T–1st | LNCAA Division II First Round | 18 | |||
| 2019 | Colorado Mines | 12–1 | 10–0 | 1st | LNCAA Division II Second Round | 8 | |||
| 2020–21 | No team—COVID-19 | ||||||||
| 2021 | Colorado Mines | 12–2 | 8–1 | T–1st | LNCAA Division II Semifinal | 3 | |||
| Colorado Mines: | 59–15 | 48–10 | |||||||
| Total: | 103–45 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
