Larry Coyer Reunites With Mike Shanahan:
The Washington Redskins announced today that they have hired Larry Coyer as an Advance Scout.
Coyer brings 47 years of coaching experience across the collegiate and professional levels.
He spent three seasons (2009-11) as defensive coordinator with the Indianapolis colts, including two 10-win seasons.
In 2009, he was a part of the Colts team that won 14 regular season games, the AFC Championship and appeared in Super Bowl XLIV.
That season, the Colts ranked fifth in the AFC and eighth in the NFL in points allowed per game (19.2). The team also produced 34 sacks and 26 takeaways while ranking fifth in the NFL in offensive touchdowns allowed (29).
Before his time in Indianapolis, Coyer spent seven seasons (2000-06) under Redskins Executive Vice President/Head Coach Mike Shanahan's staff with the Denver Broncos, serving as Defensive Coordinator in his final four seasons (2003-06).
Coyer's unit was consistently among the NFL's best, ranking sixth in the NFL in scoring defense (18.3 points allowed per game) from 2003-06. The Broncos ranked in the top five in the NFL in rushing defense three times in that span.
In 2003 and 2004, Denver ranked fourth in the NFL in yards allowed per game, with 277.1 yards allowed and 267.8 yards allowed, respectively.
The Broncos defense did not yield a touchdown in the first 11 quarters of play in 2006, the longest such season-opening streak in the NFL since 1942.
Prior to joining the Broncos, Coyer served as the Defensive Line Coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the 2007 season and was the team's Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Line Coach in 2008.
In 2007, Coyer's lineman accounted for 30 of the team's 33 sacks.
Coyer has made several college coaching stops, including stints as Defensive Coordinator at Iowa, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, East Carolina and Pittsburgh.
He also served as the Defensive Coordinator for the Michigan Panthers of the USFL, winning the league's first championship in 1983. The Panthers led the league in sacks during the 1983 season with 67.5.
Coyer is a 1964 graduate of Marshall University and is a member of the Marshall Football Hall of Fame for his achievements as a player.
As a defensive back, he led the team in interceptions his final three seasons before beginning his coaching career as a graduate assistant.
Redskins Fill Need At Offensive Assistant:
When the Redskins promoted Mike McDaniel to wide receivers coach, it left a void at offensive assistant that would need to be addressed before the upcoming season.
The Washington Redskins announced today that they have hired Aubrey Pleasant to fill that role.
Pleasant spent the start of the 2013 offseason as an intern for the offensive staff and head coach for the Cleveland Browns.
Prior to his tenure with Cleveland, he spent two years with the University of Michigan as a defensive graduate assistant, helping the team appear in back-to-back bowl games.
In his first season in 2011, Michigan's total defense improved to No. 17 in the nation (322.2 yards allowed per game) after ranking No. 110 (450.8 ypg) in the year prior to Pleasant's arrival.
Pleasant worked specifically with the defensive backs, Michigan's defense only allowed 17.4 points per game (No. 6 in the nation), led the Big Ten with 29 takeaways and tied for first in Football Bowl Subdivision with 20 fumble recoveries.
Following the 2011 season, Pleasant was one of 30 coaches nationwide invited to the NCAA Future Football Coaches Academy in San Antonio.
In 2012, Pleasant was promoted to Assistant Defensive Backs Coach, helping four players earn either first- or second-team All-Big Ten honors.
Michigan's total defense (320.0 ypg) and passing yards allowed (169.5 ypg) improved to No. 13 and No. 5 in the country, respectively.
Prior to joining Michigan, Pleasant coached defensive backs at Grand Blanc (Mich.) H.S. in 2010.
Pleasant was a three-year letterman at safety for the University of Wisconsin from 2005-08, appearing in four consecutive bowl games.
He earned his bachelor's degree in sociology from Wisconsin in 2009 and is working towards a master's degree in education from Michigan.
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