| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | American Leadership Academy (AZ) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | c. 1966 (age 58–59) Casa Grande, Arizona, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Arizona State University (1993, 1998) |
| Playing career | |
| 1984–1986 | Phoenix College |
| 1987 | Austin |
| Position(s) | Defensive back |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1990–1992 | Bourgade Catholic HS (AZ) (assistant) |
| 1993 | Midwestern State (GA) |
| 1994–1995 | Bourgade Catholic HS (AZ) |
| 1996–1998 | Phoenix College (OL/LB) |
| 1999–2001 | Phoenix College (AHC/ST/DB) |
| 2002–2007 | Austin (DC/ST) |
| 2008–2009 | Colorado Mines (ST/LB) |
| 2010–2022 | Austin |
| 2023–present | American Leadership Academy (AZ) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 37–85 (college) |
Loren Dawson (bornc. 1966) is an Americanhigh school football coach. He is the head football coach for theAmerican Leadership Academy, a position he has held since 2023. He was the head football coach forAustin College from 2010 to 2022.
Dawson grew up inCasa Grande, Arizona, and played high school football forCasa Grande Union High School. In 1984, he playedcollege football forPhoenix College.[1] In 1987, he transferred toAustin College as adefensive back under head coachMel Tjeerdsma.[2][3]
In 1990, Dawson began his coaching career as an assistant coach forBourgade Catholic High School.[3] In 1993, he served as agraduate assistant forMidwestern State under head coachMike Calcote.[3] In 1994, he returned to Bourgade Catholic as the head coach.[3] After two years as head coach, he joinedPhoenix College as theoffensive line coach andlinebackers coach.[4] In 1999, he was promoted to assistant head coach, special teams coordinator, anddefensive backs coach.[5][6] In 2002, Dawson served as thedefensive coordinator and special teams coordinator for his first stint withAustin under head coachesDavid Norman andRonnie Gage.[7] In 2008, he was the special teams coordinator and linebackers coach forColorado Mines under head coachBob Stitt.[3][4]
In 2010, Dawson earned his first college head coaching position for Austin College.[8] In thirteen years as head coach he led the team to a 37–85 record and increased the team's roster to over 100 during his tenure.[4] His best seasons came from 2013 to 2015 and in 2019 when the team finished 5–5.[9] He resigned following the 2022 season.[10][11]
In 2023, Dawson returned to high school football as the head football coach for theAmerican Leadership Academy.[4][12][13]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Kangaroos(Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference)(2010–2011) | |||||||||
| 2010 | Austin | 4–5 | 2–4 | T–5th | |||||
| 2011 | Austin | 0–10 | 0–6 | 7th | |||||
| Austin Kangaroos(NCAA Division III independent)(2012) | |||||||||
| 2012 | Austin | 2–8 | |||||||
| Austin Kangaroos(Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference)(2013–2016) | |||||||||
| 2013 | Austin | 5–5 | 2–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 2014 | Austin | 5–5 | 1–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 2015 | Austin | 5–5 | 1–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 2016 | Austin | 3–7 | 1–5 | 4th | |||||
| Austin Kangaroos(Southern Athletic Association)(2017–2020) | |||||||||
| 2017 | Austin | 3–7 | 1–7 | 9th | |||||
| 2018 | Austin | 2–8 | 2–6 | 8th | |||||
| 2019 | Austin | 5–5 | 4–4 | 5th | |||||
| 2020–21 | Austin | 1–3 | 1–3 | T–6th | |||||
| Austin Kangaroos(American Southwest Conference)(2021–2022) | |||||||||
| 2021 | Austin | 1–8 | 1–8 | 10th | |||||
| 2022 | Austin | 1–9 | 1–7 | T–8th | |||||
| Austin: | 37–85 | 17–55 | |||||||
| Total: | 37–85 | ||||||||