Lou Spanos
Louis G. Spanos (born March 27, 1971) is an American football coach who was recently the interim head coach for the Connecticut Huskies football team.[1] He was a defensive quality control and assistant linebackers coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers for many years,[2] the linebackers coach for the Washington Redskins,[3] and the defensive coordinator for the UCLA Bruins football team.
![]() Spanos in 2012 | |
Connecticut Huskies | |
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Position: | Defensive coordinator |
Personal information | |
Born: | March 27, 1971 |
Career information | |
High school: | Keystone Oaks (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) |
College: | Tulsa |
Career history | |
As a coach: | |
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Career highlights and awards | |
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Head coaching record | |
Career: | 1–9 (college) |
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]
Head coaching record
Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
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UConn Huskies (NCAA Division I FBS independent) (2021) | |||||||||
2021 | UConn | 1–9[lower-alpha 1] | |||||||
UConn: | 1–9 | ||||||||
Total: | 1–9 |
Notes
- Served as interim head coach after Randy Edsall stepped down on September 6.
Personal life
Spanos and his wife Timme reside in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina with their two sons, Zachary and Caleb, and daughter Gabriella.
References
- Foster, Chris (January 17, 2012). "UCLA football: Redskins' Lou Spanos to be Bruins defensive coordinator". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-01-17.
- "Lou Spanos (bio)". Pittsburgh Steelers. Archived from the original on 2010-01-17. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
- Dulac, Gerry (January 13, 2010). "Steelers lose one defensive assistant, possibly another". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
- Terl, Matt. "Lou Spanos Named Linebackers Coach, Kirk Olivadotti Retained". Redskins Blog. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
- "Randy Edsall Steps Aside Immediately as Head Football Coach".