Ted Roof

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Ted Roof bigraphy, stories - American football player and coach

Ted Roof : biography

11 December 1963 –

Terrence Edwin Roof, Jr. (born December 11, 1963) is an American football coach and former player. Currently, he is the defensive coordinator at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Roof served as the head coach at Duke University from 2003 to 2007, compiling a 6–45 record. Noted for his highly aggressive defenses, Roof was the defensive coordinator at the University of Minnesota, and at Auburn University, winning the 2011 BCS National Championship Game. His most recent position, prior to returning to his alma mater, was that of defensive coordinator at Penn State.

Early life and family

Roof attended Central Gwinnett High School and earned his bachelor’s degree in management from Georgia Tech in 1987. Roof is married to Pam Ash-Roof of Fayetteville, Georgia, and the couple have twin boys, Terrence Davis and Michael Edwin who now attend Mount Nittany Middle School.

Coaching career

Roof began his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Alabama in 1987, where he helped on defense before taking his first full-time position as the linebackers coach at the University of West Georgia for the 1989 season.

After Steve Spurrier left Duke University in 1990, his successor, Barry Wilson, lured Roof to fill the position coaching outside linebackers on his staff. When Wilson and his staff were fired after the 1993 season, due to Roof being hired, Roof left to serve as an assistant coach at the for the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Roof took his first job as defensive coordinator in 1997 at Western Carolina University, where he stayed one season before being lured away to join George O’Leary’s staff at his alma mater. After spending the first season coaching the Yellow Jackets linebackers, Roof was promoted to defensive coordinator. He was nominated for the 2000 Broyles Award, an annual honor given to the nation’s top assistant coach, when his defense finished the season ranked 12th in the nation in rushing defense and 20th in scoring defense. The following season, the Yellow Jackets were again one of the top defenses in the nation, ranking 23rd nationally in total defense and 32nd against the run.

When O’Leary left for the University of Notre Dame, Roof left Georgia Tech to become the defensive coordinator at Duke for the 2002 season. Roof’s instruction brought marked improvement to the Duke Blue Devils defense, which the ACC in rushing defense after finishing ninth in the league the previous year. From 2001 to 2002, the Blue Devils moved from ninth to fifth in the ACC and from 113th to 58th nationally in total defense. They progressed in passing defense in the 2003 season, jumping to third-place in the ACC from ninth the previous year. When head coach Carl Franks was released mid-way through the 2003 season, Roof was promoted to interim head coach. The team finished the season by winning two of the last three games and Roof was subsequently hired as the 20th head coach at Duke on December 6, 2003. However, after winning only four games over the next four seasons, he was fired on November 26, 2007, having compiled a 6–45 record. Despite the dismal record of Duke teams under Roof, his aggressive defenses consistently ranked in the top-30 nationally in tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

The 2008 pre-season saw Roof in strong demand. While he had initially been hired on January 6, 2008 by the University of Louisville to work alongside Ron English and Ken Delgado on the defense, it was reported on February 21, 2008 that Roof would succeed Everett Withers as the defensive coordinator at the University of Minnesota. Under just one season of Roof’s tutelage, the Gophers made tremendous improvements to give up 160 yards fewer passing yards per game and over 135 fewer total yards when compared to the previous year’s 119th ranked defense. Besides the nation’s worst total defense, Roof also inherited a squad which had ranked 115th in pass defense, 114th in rushing defense and 109th in scoring defense in 2007. Roof’s defense made strides throughout the season and finished ranked in the top-25 in both sacks and tackles for loss after being ranked 103rd and 116th the previous season. Roof’s defense created 31 turnovers, second most in the Big Ten and 11th nationally. They were seventh in the nation causing fumbles (16), fueling the team’s 16th ranking in turnover margin. Overall, the scoring defense improved to 61st, rushing defense to 69th, total defense to 79th and pass defense to 93rd. This quick turn-around on defense contributed to the Golden Gophers improving their record from 1–11 to 7–6 and garnering an appearance in the 2008 Insight Bowl.