Derrick Ansley
Derrick Ansley (born December 11th, 1981) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the defensive coordinator at Tennessee. He played linebacker at Troy from 2001-2004 before starting his coaching career at Huntingdon, a Division-III school in 2005.
Current position | |
---|---|
Title | Defensive coordinator |
Team | Tennessee |
Conference | SEC |
Biographical details | |
Born | Tallassee, Alabama | December 11, 1981
Playing career | |
2001-2004 | Troy |
Position(s) | Defensive back |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
2005-2009 | Huntingdon (DB) |
2010–2011 | Alabama (GA) |
2012 | Tennessee (DB) |
2013-2015 | Kentucky (DB) |
2016–2017 | Alabama (DB) |
2018 | Oakland Raiders (DB) |
2019–present | Tennessee (DC/DB) |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
|
Playing career
Ansley played high school football at Tallassee High School[1], where he was an All-State honorable mention in 1998 and an All-State recipient in 1999.[2] He played college football at Troy, where he started 40 consecutive games and had 19 interceptions in his career.[3]He is tied for 2nd-most interceptions in Troy history.
Coaching career
Ansley started his coaching career in 2005, where he was the defensive backs coach at Huntingdon.[4]
In 2010, he made the jump to Alabama as an on-field defensive graduate assistant.[5] He spent one year as the defensive backs coach at Tennessee before leaving for the same position at Kentucky. His secondary improved every year he was there, going from 64th in pass defense in 2013, 44th in 2014, and 32nd in 2015. They also went from 85th in passing touchdowns allowed to 28th in 2015.[6] He was hired by Alabama to serve the same role in 2016. While he was there, he coached Chuck Bednarik Award and Thorpe Award winner Minkah Fitzpatrick and All-American Marlon Humphrey.[7]
In 2018, he was hired by the Oakland Raiders to be their defensive backs coach, becoming the highest-paid defensive backs coach in the NFL.[8] His unit improved from five interceptions in 2017 to 14 in 2018.
The following year, he was hired as the defensive coordinator at Tennessee. His defense improved from 77th in total defense to 23rd.[9]
References
- "Derrick Ansley goes from Tallassee to NFL". al. January 23, 2019.
- "Hall of Pride Inductions This Week". www.tcschools.com.
- Toppmeyer, Blake. "5 things to know about new UT Vols assistant Derrick Ansley". Knoxville News Sentinel.
- Toppmeyer, Blake. "How Derrick Ansley rose from DIII assistant to Tennessee's first black defensive coordinator". Knoxville News Sentinel.
- Chatham, Josh (February 7, 2016). "Alabama Hires Kentucky Co-DC Derrick Ansley". Roll 'Bama Roll.
- Marcum, Jason (February 7, 2016). "Derrick Ansley leaves UK for Alabama". A Sea Of Blue.
- "Derrick Ansley: Tennessee's First Black Defense Coordinator who has been Churning Out Talents at College Level". October 8, 2019.
- "Derrick Ansley says his return to UT was 'a really easy sell'". timesfreepress.com.
- "NCAA College Football FBS current team Stats | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com.