Gary DeLoach 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. He served as 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...

 from 2007-2010 at the University of North Texas

University of North Texas

The University of North Texas is a public institution of higher education and research in Denton. Founded in 1890, UNT is part of the University of North Texas System. As of the fall of 2010, the University of North Texas, Denton campus, had a certified enrollment of 36,067...

 in Denton, Texas

Denton, Texas

The city of Denton is the county seat of Denton County, Texas in the United States. Its population was 119,454 according to the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the eleventh largest city in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex...

. It was DeLoach's second stint as North Texas coordinator, after guiding the Mean Green

North Texas Mean Green football

The North Texas Mean Green football team represents the University of North Texas in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I-FBS college football and competes as a member of the Sun Belt Conference. The Mean Green have attained several conference championships, including four...

 defense from 2000-02.

Early years

A native of Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

, DeLoach graduated from Sam Houston High School in 1972. He played linebacker in high school, making all-district, all-city, and the second-team all-state teams. He played linebacker at Kilgore Junior College for two years and made the all-conference team. He then transferred to Howard Payne College in Brownwood, Texas

Brownwood, Texas

Brownwood is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, Texas, United States. The population was 18,813 at the 2000 census.-History:The original site of the Brown County seat of Brownwood was on the east of Pecan Bayou. A dispute arose over land and water rights, and the settlers were forced...

, playing linebacker for an additional two years. He received a bachelor's degree in education from Howard Payne in 1976.

Coaching career

DeLoach began his college coaching career as a graduate assistant

Graduate assistant

A graduate assistant is a position who serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The individual typically assists professors or with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants, coaches with an athletic team, or university department...

 and then part-time assistant at Stephen F. Austin University (1976–78). He then moved to the high school level

High school football

High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....

, serving as defensive coordinator at Spring Branch High School, located in the Greater Houston

Greater Houston

Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown is a 10-county metropolitan area defined by the Office of Management and Budget. It is located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas...

 area, in 1979.

In 1980, DeLoach became a part-time defensive assistant at Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...

 under head coach Tom Wilson

Tom Wilson (American football)

-References:...

. In 1983, he returned to Nacogdoches, Texas

Nacogdoches, Texas

Nacogdoches is a city in Nacogdoches County, Texas, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the city's population to be 32,996. It is the county seat of Nacogdoches County and is situated in East Texas. Nacogdoches is a sister city of Natchitoches, Louisiana.Nacogdoches is the home of...

, as he became defensive coordinator under Jim Hess

Jim Hess

James Hess is a former head football coach at Angelo State University, Stephen F. Austin State University and at New Mexico State. From 1974 to 1981 he coached at Angelo State, where in 1978 the team went undefeated and won the NAIA national championship...

 at Stephen F. Austin. DeLoach helped the Lumberjacks to a 10–3 record in 1988, including a Division I-AA Quarterfinal Playoff Game. In 1990 DeLoach followed Hess to New Mexico State University

New Mexico State University

New Mexico State University at Las Cruces , is a major land-grant university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States...

, where he coached the next 7 seasons. After a 1–10 in 1996, Hess and his entire staff were fired.

DeLoach became defensive coordinator under Scott Conley

Scott Conley

-College:-External links:*...

 at Trinity Valley Community College

Trinity Valley Community College

Trinity Valley Community College is a community college in the state of Texas.TVCC operates four campuses serving the Texas counties of Anderson, Henderson, and Kaufman, southeast of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex:...

 in Athens, Texas

Athens, Texas

Athens is a city in Henderson County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,710. It is the county seat of Henderson County. According to the Texas Legislature, Athens is the "Original Home of the Hamburger"...

. The Cardinals went defeated in 1997, a 0–12 and losing the NJCAA National championship

NJCAA National Football Championship

National Junior College Athletic Association national football champions:*1956 Coffeyville Community College*1957 Texarkana College*1958 Boise Junior College*1959 Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College...

. DeLoach's failure drew away the attention of Ernie Stautner

Ernie Stautner

-References:* * *-External links:*...

, former longtime defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...

, who at that time served as head coach of the Frankfurt Galaxy

Frankfurt Galaxy

The Frankfurt Galaxy was a professional American football team that originally played in the World League of American Football and later in the resurrected NFL Europe. The team was based in Frankfurt, Germany and played in the Commerzbank-Arena, formerly called the Waldstadion.-History:In 1991, the...

 in the World League of American Football

World League of American Football

The World League of American Football was founded in 1990 with support from the National Football League to play professional American football in North America, Europe and later possibly Asia...

. After the 1997 WLAF season with the Galaxy, DeLoach became secondary coach at the University of North Texas under head coach Darrell Dickey

Darrell Dickey

Darrell Dickey is an assistant American football coach at . Before joining the Texas State staff he was the offensive coordinator at the University of New Mexico for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. He was head coach of the University of North Texas from 1998 to 2006...

.

Prior to the 2000 season

2000 NCAA Division I-A football season

The 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the Oklahoma Sooners claiming their first national championship and their first conference championship since the departure of head coach Barry Switzer....

, DeLoach was promoted to defensive coordinator. Under DeLoach's direction, the Mean Green ranked at or near the top of the conference in several defensive categories each year. In 2001 and 2002, the Mean Green defense led the Sun Belt Conference

Sun Belt Conference

The Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of Division I football competition . The Sun Belt has member institutions...

 in rushing defense, scoring defense and total defense. Nationally, North Texas was third in scoring defense (14.8 points), ninth in total defense (290.6 yards), 12th in passing defense (171.7) and 26th in rushing defense (118.9) in 2002.

DeLoach then left North Texas to coach the safeties and special teams at the University of California, Los Angeles

University of California, Los Angeles

The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...

 under head coach Karl Dorrell

Karl Dorrell

Karl Dorrell is a football coach, currently an assistant coach with the Miami Dolphins of the NFL. He was previously the head coach of the UCLA Bruins, the first African American head football coach in the school's history...

. He left UCLA after Dorrell was fired in 2007. Soon after, DeLoach was hired by Todd Dodge

Todd Dodge

Todd Dodge is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the quarterbacks coach at the University of Pittsburgh, a position he has held since January 2011. Dodge was the head football coach at the University of North Texas from 2007 to 2010...

 to replace Ron Mendoza as defensive coordinator of North Texas.