Football
- Title:
- Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach
- Email:
- football@kent.edu
Dave Duggan joined the Golden Flashes and Head Coach Kenni Burns’ staff in January of 2023 as Defensive Coordinator and linebackers’ coach.
He comes to Kent State from Troy University where he has served as the Trojans’ Director of Recruiting since 2021 and has coaching stops at Arkansas State, Western Michigan, Southern Mississippi, North Carolina and NFL Europe.
Duggan was the defensive coordinator at Arkansas State for two seasons and served as the Red Wolves’ interim head coach during the 2019 campaign. During his time at Arkansas State, the Red Wolves won eight games in 2019 including the Camellia Bowl. His defense forced 19 turnovers and ranked second in the Sun Belt in red zone defense.
With the Broncos, Duggan served as the linebackers coach and special teams coordinator for three seasons. In his first year, Western Michigan went 13-0 during the regular season and finished 12th in the final rankings. During his time in Kalamazoo, six of his student-athletes were named All-MAC and a pair of linebackers went on to sign NFL free agent contracts.
Prior to Western Michigan, Duggan was the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Southern Miss, his second stint in Hattiesburg. In 2015, he helped engineer one of the best FBS turnarounds, helping the Golden Eagles go from 3-9 to 9-5 a season later. He was also in Hattiesburg from 2008-11 where he coached Jamie Collins who went on to a successful NFL career with the New England Patriots. Â
In 2012, Duggan was on the staff at North Carolina as the outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator. The Tar Heels went 8-4, its best mark since 1997, blocked three punts and had a kickoff return touchdown.
Outside of college football, Duggan had a successful run in NFL Europe. He served as the head coach of the Cologne Centurions for two of his six seasons overseas. Cologne led the league in both seasons as head coach and he won the 2001 and 2002 World Bowls on the Berlin Thunder staff.
Duggan is a graduate of New Hampshire where he played from 1982-86. He and his wife Lynne have two daughters, Olivia and Grace.
