Troy University Athletics
Vic Koenning Returns to Troy as Defensive Coordinator
12/17/2014 3:50:00 PM | Football
TROY, Alabama – The architect of the some of the nation's best defenses over the past decade, Vic Koenning has been named Troy's defensive coordinator, head coach Neal Brown announced Wednesday. Koenning previously served as Troy's defensive coordinator from 2003-04.
"I am excited about bringing Vic back home to Troy," Brown said. "He built one of the best defenses in Troy history in 2004 and still has a lot of connections in this area. Vic has been a great recruiter in south Georgia for many years, and his numbers on the defensive side of the ball speak for themselves.
"Vic brings with him a great deal of experience as he has served not only as a defensive coordinator but also as a head coach. He had unprecedented success at Clemson and turned around the defenses at Kansas State and Illinois in a short period of time."
Koenning returns to Troy after spending the past three seasons as the assistant head coach for defense at North Carolina. The 28-year coaching veteran also coached safeties and inside linebackers during his tenure in Chapel Hill.
"I am tremendously excited to be back in Alabama," Koenning said. "Troy has changed a lot, yet the reasons for loving it haven't. I'm looking forward to finalizing our defensive staff and developing this team with Coach Brown and the rest of the staff."
Following a dominating run at Troy that led to the school's first bowl appearance, Koenning produced four top-16 defenses at Clemson from 2005 to 2008 and orchestrated a pair of extreme turnarounds at Kansas State and Illinois. While at Clemson, he accomplished something no other Tiger defensive coordinator had achieved in the school's history as each of his four defenses finished in the top 25 in scoring, total and pass efficiency defense.
Troy's Koenning-led defense finished the 2004 season ranked sixth nationally in pass efficiency (100.6), eighth in rushing (100.9), 10th in scoring (16.7) and 16th in total defense (311.0). In the second game of the year, the Trojans defeated No. 19 Missouri as Koenning's defense pitched a shutout over the game's final 52 minutes.
He left Troy in 2005 to become the defensive coordinator at Clemson and had immediate success as the Tigers finished 11th in the nation in scoring defense (17.6) in his first season. Clemson went on to defeat Colorado 19-10 in the Champs Sports Bowl to cap an 8-4 season.
Koenning developed several Clemson players who went on to play in the NFL. In 2006, cornerback Tye Hill was a first round pick, while defensive end Gaines Adams was the No. 4 overall selection in 2007. Defensive end Phillip Merling was the No. 32 overall selection of the 2008 draft by Miami.
The 2007 defensive performance might have been the best of his tenure at Clemson. The Tigers had just one player make first or second team All-ACC despite leading the ACC in pass defense and turnover margin, and finishing second in total and scoring defense. Clemson was ninth in the nation in total defense (307.0) and 10th in scoring defense (18.7).
In 2008, Clemson's defense led the ACC in scoring defense and ranked ninth in the nation by allowing just 16.6 points per game. The unit also was 12th in the nation in pass defense, 11th in pass efficiency defense, tied for eighth in interceptions and 16th in total defense.
Koenning left Clemson and spent one season at Kansas State under Bill Snyder and two seasons at Illinois under Ron Zook. He improved the Illini defense from 91st in the country in 2009 to 38th in 2010 and seventh in 2011. Illinois gave up just 291.8 yards per game and ranked fourth in the nation in pass defense, fifth in tackles for loss and ninth in sacks. Illinois defensive end Whitney Mercilus led the nation in sacks and was second in tackles for loss. Koenning led Illinois to a 2011 win over UCLA in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl as the team's interim head coach.
Koenning's first season with the Illini was an unquestioned success as he improved Illinois' defense from 76th in the country in rushing defense to 32nd, 96th to 48th in scoring defense, 100th to 61st in passing defense and 83rd to 22nd in turnover margin while serving as defensive coordinator and secondary coach.
He helped Kansas State improve from 112th in the NCAA in rushing defense in 2008 to 16th in 2009, total defense from 117th to 40th and scoring defense from 110th to 48th. Kansas State allowed 140 yards fewer in 2009 than in 2008 and 12 points per game less than the previous year.
In 2013, North Carolina improved dramatically over the second half of the season, securing wins in six of its last seven contests. In five of those games, North Carolina held its opponents to less than 20 points, including the 39-17 win over Cincinnati in the Belk Bowl.
Safety Tre Boston was a second team All-ACC pick and finished his career third at UNC in interceptions. Safety Domonique Green started every game and earned freshman All-America recognition. Three defensive players – Boston (fourth round), defensive end Kareem Martin (third) and cornerback Jabari Price (seventh) – were selected in the 2014 NFL Draft.
In 2012, North Carolina finished third in the nation in tackles for loss with more than eight per game. Koenning's pupil, middle linebacker Kevin Reddick, led the ACC and was 12th in the country with 18.5 tackles for loss. Reddick also had 85 tackles, 6.5 sacks and forced two fumbles en route to first team All-ACC honors.
Prior to his first stint at Troy, Koenning was the head coach at Wyoming from 2000-02. He coached 10 Cowboy players who earned first team all-conference honors in his six seasons in Laramie, including three years as defensive coordinator. In 1997, Wyoming led the nation in interceptions and was second in sacks.
Koenning served as a full-time assistant coach working with the defensive backs at Memphis from 1991-96. In his first year, he helped the Tigers to a 24-10 upset at No. 14 USC. His second season there saw the defense finish third in the nation in total defense and 15th in scoring defense. The Tigers enjoyed another successful year on defense in 1993, as Koenning's unit was 16th in the nation in total defense. In 1994, the Tigers were third in the nation in total defense and eighth in scoring defense. His final year at Memphis was highlighted by a 21-17 upset of No. 6 Tennessee.
A three-year starter, team captain and 1983 graduate at Kansas State, Koenning was the recipient of the Paul Coffman Award, presented to the Wildcat who displays the most outstanding leadership. Koenning was third on the team with 93 total tackles as a senior.
Koenning, a native of Owasso, Okla., pursued a playing career with the Denver Broncos, Oklahoma Outlaws (USFL) and Green Bay Packers between 1983. He received his master's degree in athletic administration from Memphis in 1989.
Koenning and his wife Tracey have four children, Kimberly, Brady, Camden and Jackson.
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