Lou Spanos

Louis G. Spanos (born March 27, 1971) is an American football coach who was the defensive coordinator for the UConn Huskies football team, a position he held until the start of the 2022 season.[1] He was a defensive quality control and assistant linebackers coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1995 to 2009,[2] the linebackers coach for the Washington Redskins from 2010 to 2011,[3] and the defensive coordinator for the UCLA from 2012 to 2013. He also served as the interim head coach of UConn for much of the 2021 season, following the resignation of long-time head coach Randy Edsall.

Lou Spanos
refer to caption
Spanos in 2012
Ole Miss Rebels
Position:Defensive Analyst
Personal information
Born: (1971-03-27) March 27, 1971
Career information
High school:Keystone Oaks
(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
College:Tulsa
Career history
As a coach:
Career highlights and awards
Head coaching record
Career:1–9 (college)

Throughout his career, Spanos has been to the Super Bowl three times, winning two of them with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2006 and 2009, and had been to the College National Championship once; in 2019 with Alabama.

Playing career

Spanos attended Keystone Oaks High School, located in the South Hills suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and played in the 1989 Big 33 Football Classic. A 1994 graduate of the University of Tulsa, Spanos was a four-year letterman and three-year starter at center. He served as the center for Tulsa quarterback Gus Frerotte.

Coaching career

Spanos stayed at Tulsa for a year after his playing career concluded to assist coaching the linebackers. He joined the Steelers in 1995. Spanos is one of only two assistant coaches to be on the Super Bowl XXX, Super Bowl XL and Super Bowl XLIII coaching staffs, joining defensive line coach John Mitchell.

On January 16, 2010, Spanos was hired by Mike Shanahan and the Washington Redskins to be their linebackers coach.[4] After the 2011 season, he left the Redskins to coach the UCLA Bruins defense. On January 18, 2014, Spanos left the Bruins and was hired by Ken Whisenhunt of the Tennessee Titans as linebackers coach.

On September 5, 2021, Huskies head coach Randy Edsall announced plans to retire at the end of the 2021 season; a day later, UConn announced that Edsall would step down immediately as a result of a "mutual decision" between him and the university. Spanos was named the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.[5]

Spanos resigned as defensive coordinator at UConn in August 2022, two weeks before the beginning of the football season.[6][7]

Head coaching record
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
UConn Huskies (NCAA Division I FBS independent) (2021)
2021 UConn 1–9[lower-alpha 1]
UConn: 1–9
Total:1–9

Notes
  1. Served as interim head coach after Randy Edsall stepped down on September 6.

Personal life

As of 2021, Spanos and his wife reside in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina with their three children.[8]

References
  1. Foster, Chris (January 17, 2012). "UCLA football: Redskins' Lou Spanos to be Bruins defensive coordinator". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-01-17.
  2. "Lou Spanos (bio)". Pittsburgh Steelers. Archived from the original on 2010-01-17. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  3. Dulac, Gerry (January 13, 2010). "Steelers lose one defensive assistant, possibly another". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  4. Terl, Matt. "Lou Spanos Named Linebackers Coach, Kirk Olivadotti Retained". Redskins Blog. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  5. "Randy Edsall Steps Aside Immediately as Head Football Coach".
  6. Parks, James. "College football coach leaves team a week before season starts". College Football HQ. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  7. Vannini, Chris (2022-12-15). "How Jim Mora took UConn from rock bottom to a bowl game in one year". The Athletic. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  8. Sapakoff, Gene (2021-11-14). "Sapakoff: Clemson, Dabo add to Mount Pleasant's Lou Spanos' bizarre year". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
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