FootballScoop is proud to announce that Joe Bowen (Buffalo) is the 2024 FootballScoop Linebackers Coaches of the Year presented by AstroTurf as selected by prior winners.
Amid the thousands upon thousands of defensive players at the FBS level, only two recorded more than 137 tackles in the 2024 season. Both played linebacker for Buffalo.
With one game still to play, senior Shaun Dolac leads the club, and the nation, with 153 tackles, including 76 solo. He has posted double-digit stops in 11 of 12 games to date, and registered nine in the 12th game. Dolac compiled 15 or more tackles five times, including an astounding 19 (15 solo) in a 23-20 win over Northern Illinois. He also posted 17 in a win over Ball State, 16 apiece against Missouri and UMass, and 15 (10 solo) versus Toledo.
Dolac has recorded 16.5 tackles for loss, 11th most in the nation, with five interceptions -- tied for fourth most nationally, and the most by a linebacker. Dolac's interceptions were returned a combined 177 yards with one touchdown.
Whatever tackles Dolac did not make, sophomore Red Murdock did. He has posted 143 stops with one game to play, with nine double-digit outings and a season low of seven. He posted 10 solo stops in the win over Northern Illinois, and 19 total in the triumph over Ball State. Fourteen of Murdock's tackles occurred behind the line of scrimmage, and he ranks third nationally and first among linebackers with five forced fumbles.
While Dolac and Murdock combined for an astounding 302 tackles (140 solo), fellow sophomore linebacker Dion Crawford has still found opportunities for 53 tackles, and sophomore linebacker SaVeon Brown has posted 16 tackles on the year.
Dolac and Murdock's exploits helped Buffalo show marked improvement in Year 1 under a new coaching staff. The Bulls chopped nearly 35 yards per game off their rushing average while improving from 3-9 to 8-4 with a Bahamas Bowl appearance against Liberty still to come.
Unsurprisingly, Dolac was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Year, while Murdock joined Dolac on the All-MAC First Team. Dolac was also appointed a consensus All-American, the first in Buffalo history.
Also Buffalo's defensive coordinator, Bowen is a two-time graduate of Miami University. He began coaching as a student assistant in 2011, and served as an offensive intern from 2013-14 before moving to a GA from 2015-16. Further stops took him to Michigan State, South Carolina and Florida State before finally landing an on-field role at his alma mater in 2022, where he was the linebackers coach and run game coordinator. There, he helped the RedHawks win the MAC title and tutored the MAC Defensive Player of the Year.
The FootballScoop Coaches of the Year awards presented by AstroTurf are the only set of awards that recognize the most outstanding position coaches in college football. The finalists (Zac Alley [Oklahoma], Jamar Chaney and Caleb Collins [Baylor], Ikaika Malloe and Tony Washington, Jr. [Washington], Glenn Schumann and Chidera Uzo-Diribe [Georgia] and Bowen) were selected based off of nominations by coaches, athletic directors, and athletic department personnel. The prior winners selected this year's winner.
Previous winners of the Linebackers Coach of the Year award are Bill McGovern (Boston College, 2008), Bob Fraser (Rutgers, 2009), Luke Fickell (Ohio State, 2010), Dave Huxtable (Wisconsin, 2011), Bob Gregory (Boise State, 2012), Jim Reid and LeVar Woods (Iowa, 2013), Jeff Casteel (Arizona, 2014), Dave Aranda and Tim Tibesear (Wisconsin, 2015), Mike Siravo (Temple, 2016), Tyson Veidt (Iowa State, 2017), Dave Aranda (LSU, 2018), Tim DeRuyter and Peter Sirmon (Cal, 2019), Joe Gillespie (Tulsa, 2020), Caleb Collins and Ron Roberts (Baylor, 2021), Seth Wallace (Iowa, 2022), and Tony Gibson (NC State, 2023).
Since 1965, the AstroTurf brand has been driven by forward thinking ingenuity. Today AstroTurf continuously improves its system design to deliver playing surfaces with the most realistic, sport-specific performance, longest lasting durability, and sound player protection. For more information please visit AstroTurf.com.
Created in 1999, FootballScoop.com is the premier source for coaching job information and has long been the most widely viewed website by coaches, athletic directors, strength & conditioning coaches, operations and equipment staff across America. As the leading coaching job information venue, FootballScoop.com serves our viewers’ needs by providing first hand, timely & accurate information for our audience. FootballScoop.com is the premier provider of official job postings.
