Jan. 16, 2007
ATLANTA (AP) - Brian VanGorder was hired as the Atlanta Falcons' linebackers coach Tuesday, ending a dismal one-year stint as head coach at Georgia Southern.
VanGorder, who served four years as Georgia's defensive coordinator before leaving after the 2004 season, took over in Statesboro to great expectations after the Eagles fired Mike Sewak.
But Georgia Southern, a perennial power in NCAA Division I-AA, slumped to 3-8 for its first losing season since 1996. There also were indications that VanGorder's family never adjusted to the small-town atmosphere.
The 47-year-old VanGorder will be moving to his fourth job in as many years. He left Georgia to become linebackers coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, staying with the NFL team just one season before taking over at Georgia Southern.
Sewak was fired after the Eagles were eliminated in the opening round of the I-AA playoffs for the second consecutive year. That wasn't acceptable at a school that has won six I-AA championships.
VanGorder signaled a new era when he ditched the run-oriented triple option the Eagles had used with plenty of success over the years. He wanted the offense to rely more on the passing game, but the move failed miserably.
"I was extremely disappointed when Coach VanGorder told me the news," athletic director Sam Baker said at an evening news conference, which VanGorder didn't attend. "We anticipated the transition would be difficult, but last year we made very visible progress within our program in respect to academics, discipline and facility improvements."
Georgia Southern lost one close game after another, with six defeats by a total of 21 points - including two in overtime. The season ended with 34-31 loss to Central Arkansas, a first-year I-AA school that prevailed in OT after the Eagles missed a 32-yard field goal in the final minute of regulation.
VanGorder had more success at Georgia, where he won the 2003 Frank Broyles Award as the nation's top college assistant.
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Under VanGorder, the Bulldogs allowed only 15.1 points a game while winning the Southeastern Conference championship in 2002. The next season, the Bulldogs claimed a share of the SEC East title and allowed an average of 14.5 points, which ranked second nationally. In his final season, Georgia ranked ninth with a 16.6 per-game average.
VanGorder graduated from West Bloomfield (Mich.) High School and began his coaching career there as an assistant in 1981. After coaching at three high schools in Florida, he was head coach from 1992-94 at his alma mater, Wayne State University.
VanGorder then served as linebacker coach and special teams coordinator at Central Florida in 1995-96 and was assistant head coach and defensive coordinator in 1997. He was defensive coordinator at Central Michigan in 1998-99 and held the same position at Western Illinois in 2000 before joining the Georgia program in 2001.
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