Chris Cosh is an American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 coach and currently holds the position of defensive coordinator

Defensive coordinator

A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...

 and assistant head coach at Kansas State University

Kansas State University

Kansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...

. He held the co-defensive coordinator position along with Vic Koenning

Vic Koenning

-External links:*...

 in 2009.

Playing career

Cosh played linebacker

Linebacker

A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...

 for the Virginia Tech Hokies

Virginia Tech Hokies football

The Virginia Tech Hokies football team is a college football program that competes in NCAA Division I-FBS, in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They have more wins in team history than any other program in the ACC. Their home games are played at Lane Stadium which seats over...

 from 1977-1981.

Coaching career

He has been a defensive coach since he started as a student assistant

Teaching assistant

A teaching assistant is an individual who assists a professor or teacher with instructional responsibilities. TAs include graduate teaching assistants , who are graduate students; undergraduate teaching assistants , who are undergraduate students; secondary school TAs, who are either high school...

 at Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech Hokies football

The Virginia Tech Hokies football team is a college football program that competes in NCAA Division I-FBS, in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They have more wins in team history than any other program in the ACC. Their home games are played at Lane Stadium which seats over...

 in 1983. Cosh has moved around a lot, with 13 stops in 25 years, including two with the Maryland Terrapins

Maryland Terrapins football

The Maryland Terrapins football team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision competition. The Terrapins compete within the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference...

 (1997 & 2006-08) and re-joining Holtz with the South Carolina Gamecocks

South Carolina Gamecocks football

The South Carolina Gamecocks football team represents the University of South Carolina in NCAA Division I college football. The Gamecocks have been a member of the Southeastern Conference since 1992. Steve Spurrier is the current head coach, and the team plays its home games at Williams-Brice...

 (1999–2003).

He served as linebackers coach in 2004 and 2005 for the Kansas State Wildcats

Kansas State Wildcats football

The Kansas State Wildcats football program is the intercollegiate football program of the Kansas State University Wildcats. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I Bowl Subdivision, and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference...

 under head coach Bill Snyder

Bill Snyder

Bill Snyder is the head football coach at Kansas State University. He was rehired to the position on November 24, 2008, making Snyder one of the rare college football head coaches to have non-consecutive tenure at the same school. Snyder previously served as head coach at the school from 1989 to...

, before returning to Maryland as their defensive coordinator and linebackers coach with head coach Ralph Friedgen

Ralph Friedgen

Ralph Harry Friedgen is an American football coach. He was the head coach at the University of Maryland from 2001 to 2010. Friedgen was previously an offensive coordinator at Maryland, Georgia Tech, and in the National Football League with the San Diego Chargers...

.

While at Maryland, Cosh was frequently criticized by fans for the inconsistent performance by Maryland's defense, which was described as "poor to occasionally impressive". Friedgen praised Cosh's recruiting but showed public frustration with Cosh's in-game coaching.

On December 6, 2008 it was announced that Cosh would return to Kansas State for a second time under coach Snyder (when Snyder decided to come out of retirement to help the Wildcats) as assistant head coach (to Snyder) and co-defensive coordinator alongside Vic Koenning

Vic Koenning

-External links:*...

.

Cosh will have now served as a defensive coordinator in four of the six BCS

Bowl Championship Series

The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...

 conferences (Big Ten, SEC, ACC, and Big 12).

Personal

Cosh is a native of Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, and graduated from Bishop McNamara High School

Bishop McNamara High School

Bishop McNamara High School, a college preparatory school in the Holy Cross tradition, is in Forestville, Maryland. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.-History:...

 in Forestville, Maryland

Forestville, Maryland

Forestville is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 12,707 at the 2000 census...

. He has a bachelor's degree in physical education from Virginia Tech in 1983.

Cosh and his wife, Mary, have two sons, J.J., who is a member of the Midshipmen

Navy Midshipmen football

The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I-A college football. They are a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision independent school and coached by Ken Niumatalolo since December 2007...

 football team at the United States Naval Academy

United States Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

, and Billy, who played at Kansas State as a freshman and transferred to James Madison

James Madison University

James Madison University is a public coeducational research university located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, U.S. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the university has undergone four name changes before settling with James Madison University...

. They live in Maryland.