Brian VanGorder is hanging up his defensive playbook and whistle.
At least he is at the collegiate level.
Multiple sources confirmed to FootballScoop Saturday that the long-tenured defensive coordinator VanGorder has opted for retirement.
He had spent the past two seasons as defensive coordinator at Bowling Green as part of Scot Loeffler's rebuilding project for the Falcons football program.
Per sources with knowledge of the situation, VanGorder “felt the pull to spend more time with his family” and decided it was the right time to walk away from the game of football after four decades of coaching. VanGorder logged coaching stints at the high school, collegiate and professional levels.
Update: Per sources Saturday afternoon, VanGorder elected for a brief retirement-- from the collegiate ranks. He is going to join Mark Hudspeth's staff at Gulf Shores High School (Alabama) as Hudspeth's defensive coordinator.
It's quite the prep coaching lineup: Hudspeth is a former Division I head coach who already Tabbed former South Alabama offensive coordinator Kenny Edenfield as Gulf Shores' play-caller.
A former Broyles Award winner as the nation's top college football assistant coach, VanGorder also had experience as a head coach.
He registered three seasons atop the Wayne State program, the Jackson, Michigan, native's alma mater, and one at Georgia Southern.
But VanGorder was long known as a staunch defensive mind who worked at some of the most storied programs in college football and had multiple NFL stops as well.
VanGorder served as the defensive play-caller at Auburn, Georgia, Louisville and Notre Dame across his career; likewise, he had NFL stops with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Atlanta Falcons and the New York Jets.
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