Leave It All On The Field | Coaching Career of Brandon Gallagher

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The Coaching Career of Brandon Gallagher

Coach Info: Brandon Gallagher was a standout linebacker for the Duke Blue Devils and later the Northwestern Wildcats during his collegiate career beginning in 2003 and ending in 2006. After a tragic car accident ended his NFL aspirations, Gallagher went into coaching. After 5 years in the high school ranks, the 4-time Bednarik Award winner is ready to lead a defense at the college level.

Year	Job	Team	Record | Result
2011	Defensive Coordinator	UL Monroe Warhawks	7-7 (5-3) | L in Military Bowl to NIU
2012	Defensive Coordinator	Northwestern Wildcats	-
-	-	-	-
-	-	-	-

Career Record (as a Coordinator): 8-7
Bowl Record (as a Coordinator): 0-1
Alma Mater: Northwestern

Table of Contents
2011
- ULM Hires New DC
- 2011 Season Summary
- Gallagher Quickly Moving Up Coaching Ranks

2012
- 2012 Schedule
- Offensive Preview
- Defensive Preview
- Depth Chart
- Recruiting Targets


NOTE: Brandon Gallagher is from my Duke dynasty from NCAA 11. He was the best player I ever recruited to Duke (came in as a 4-star athlete) and won the Bednarik Award both years I had him, along with leading us to an Orange Bowl win and our first-ever ACC Championship as a sophomore. Obviously he didn't actually play in 2003 but I had to make the timeline more realistic.

NOTE II: Northwestern has been moved to the PAC-12 North so that once I get to Northwestern I can play my friend (whose alma mater is Cal) every year. I also moved the teams around in the PAC-12 to make the PAC-12 North the more competitive division.

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National Championship
2011 - Oklahoma Sooners 37, Oregon Ducks 27

Rose Bowl
2011 - Michigan Wolverines 24, Boise State Broncos 21

Fiesta Bowl
2011 - Stanford Cardinal 35, South Florida Bulls 13

Sugar Bowl
2011 - Mississippi State 28, Penn State Nittany Lions 24

Orange Bowl
2011 - Florida State Seminoles 25, Oklahoma State 21

Heisman Winner
2011 - Ohio RB Ryan Boykin - 274 carries for 1873 yards, 24 touchdowns

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SEC Champion
2011 - Alabama Crimson TIde

B1G Champion
2011 - Michigan Wolverines

PAC-12 Champion
2011 - Oregon Ducks

ACC Champion
2011 - Florida State Seminoles

Big East Champion
2011 - South Florida Bulls

Big XII Champion
2011 - Oklahoma Sooners

C-USA Champion
2011 - Southern Methodist Mustangs

MAC Champion
2011 - Ohio Bobcats

MWC Champion
2011 - Boise State Broncos

WAC Champion
2011 - Hawaii Warriors

Sun Belt Champion
2011 - Troy Trojans

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Gallagher Hall of Fame
(The best of the best of Coach Gallagher's teams)


In The NFL
(Players coached by Coach Gallagher who are now in the NFL)

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Warhawks Hire New DC
Former Bednarik Winner Brandon Gallagher will oversee defense


Brandon Gallagher was a standout linebacker for Duke and later Northwestern.

August 2, 2011

Monroe, LA --- For the past two seasons, former UTEP linebacker Troy Reffett has assumed the defensive coordinator position for the University of Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks. And he has done more than an admirable job. The Warhawks' impressive usage of Reffett's 3-3-5 attacking defensive scheme earned Reffett a nomination for the Frank Broyles Award in 2009, given to the nation's top assistant coach. Unfortunately, Reffett announced his resignation last week, citing a need to return to his roots as a gardener. "This isn't an easy decision, but I feel like I've been neglecting my potatoes and carrots too much, and when that type of feeling hits you you know you've failed (as a gardener)."

Head Coach Todd Berry was shocked by the decision, but had little time to come up with a replacement with the season just weeks away. He settled on 26 year-old Brandon Gallagher, also a former college linebacker. Gallagher started his collegiate career at Duke University in 2003, winning two Bednarik Awards and Best Linebacker awards before transferring to Northwestern University (where he also won two Bednarik and Best LB Awards) following the retirement of Duke head coach Dan Orlovsky. He was expected to be a top-5 draft pick in the 2006 NFL Draft before a disastrous car accident ruined his left leg, ensuring that he would never be able to run full speed again, much less play professional football. After 5 years of coaching high school at his former stomping grounds in North Carolina, Gallagher felt ready to make the jump back to the level where he was so dominant.

"I'm very excited to be a part of the ULM program," said Gallagher in his opening press conference this afternoon. "After 4 years of starting at middle linebacker and 5 years as a defensive coordinator at one of the top high schools in North Carolina, I feel like I'm more than ready to lead a defense at the collegiate level. We will be running a multiple defense that dictates what the offense does, rather than allowing the offense to dictate to us. The linebackers will be the playmakers of this defense and we plan on having the top defense in the Sun Belt."

Gallagher has some fairly large shoes to fill, but something tells me he's not intimidated.

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2011 Season Summary
Warhawks go 7-7; Lose Military Bowl to Northern Illinois


Linebacker Jason Edwards bats down a pass to preserve ULM's win against Arkansas State.

January 5, 2012

Monroe, LA --- In Week 9, with the Warhawks sitting at 2-5 (0-3), it looked highly doubtful that the University of Louisiana-Monroe football team would make a bowl game, much less earn a bid to the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game. However, a 5-game win streak to close out the regular season helped them just do that, earning them the right to play the Troy Trojans in the conference championship. Though the Warhawks lost both the conference championship and the Military Bowl (to Northern Illinois), things are looking up in Monroe. Behind the leadership of rising junior QB Kolton Browning and the stingy defense led by defensive coordinator Brandon Gallagher, this squad will be a force to be reckoned with in the Sun Belt as long as the coaching staff can remain intact - which could prove a challenge as (unconfirmed) rumors have been flying that Gallagher could be interested in the newly vacated Northwestern defensive coordinator position - and the interest is said to be mutual. Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald was fired after the Wildcats went 5-7 in their inaugural season in the PAC-16, and has been replaced by San Diego State offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig. Gallagher played linebacker for the Wildcats his junior and senior seasons, and would likely take the job without regret if offered.

UL Monroe Warhawks 2011 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Sep 3	at Florida State	Lost, 23-17
Sep 10	vs Grambling State	Won, 41-26
Sep 17	at Texas Christian	Lost, 17-7
Sep 24	at Temple	Lost, 28-14
Oct 8	at Troy	Lost, 31-14
Oct 15	vs Arkansas State	Lost, 17-10
Oct 22	at North Texas	Won, 22-19
Oct 29	vs Western Kentucky	Won, 27-17
Nov 5	at UL Lafayette	Won, 51-27
Nov 12	vs Middle Tennessee State	Won, 22-6
Nov 19	vs Florida International	Won, 17-16
Dec 3	at Florida Atlantic	Won, 41-31
Dec 10	at Troy - Conference Championship	Lost, 44-31
Dec 29	at Northern Illinois - Military Bowl	Lost, 28-21

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Gallagher Quickly Moving Up Coaching Ranks
Northwestern hires 27 year-old to coach defense

January 22, 2012

Evanston, IL --- In a move that has been hinted at for two weeks, the Northwestern Wildcats have hired former linebacker Brandon Gallagher to be their new defensive coordinator. Gallagher, who was an All-Big 10 linebacker for the Wildcats in 2005 and 2006, will bring much-needed discipline and identity to the school, who struggled to a 5-7 record in 2011, their first season in the PAC-12.

"While I'm saddened to leave the Warhawks after only one season," Gallagher said in his introductory press conference. "I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to come back to Evanston and coach at the place where I had so much success. I think [UL Monroe head coach] Todd Berry for bringing me into the college ranks, and wish them the best of luck in the future. That said, I'm absolutely ecstatic to be back here in Evanston. We have a solid nucleus of talent with guys like [middle linebacker] David Nwabuisi and [safety] Hunter Bates, and I can't wait to get to work. I can't thank [newly hired head coach] Andy Ludwig enough for giving me this opportunity."

It is reported that Gallagher signed a 3-year contract. Gallagher, combined with offensive guru Andy Ludwig, will give the Wildcats an impressive, albeit inexperienced coaching staff.

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*The reason I only posted a season summary of the 2011 season is I'm currently in the 2012 season and just decided to make a Dynasty out of this and didn't want to give half-hearted summaries of 2011 games.