The Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks haven’t gone over .500 or played in a bowl game since 2012. In an attempt to rectify that, they hired a renowned transformer of college football programs as head coach, who has assembled a coaching staff that has the talent to return the team to relevance in the Sun Belt.
Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks Coaching Staff
Head Coach, Terry Bowden
After a winless 2020 campaign that spelled the end of Matt Viator’s time as the head coach in Monroe, the Warhawks needed a transformative presence to return the program to Sun Belt relevance. In his forty years as a head coach, few have been able to resurrect programs like Terry Bowden. He proved that almost instantaneously in his first season at the helm.
Bowden has delivered consecutive four-win seasons to the program, and while that’s short of a first bowl game appearance since 2012, his success at turning around programs should inspire fans and power brokers inside Malone Stadium. After all, as the youngest head coach in college football in 1983, he took Salem College from a 0-9-1 program to two conference titles.
He carried out similar transformative efforts at Akron and Samford, taking the Zips to a MAC Championship Game for the first time in 12 years and only the second time in program history, and tying the single-season win record while with the Bulldogs. Amongst that success, he’s perhaps most famous for engineering an 11-0 record in his first season at Auburn.
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Part of the legendary Bowden coaching family, Terry and Bobby Bowden were the first father-son duo to be head coaches at the highest level of football at the same time. Alongside his father and brother Tommy, the Bowdens achieved the unprecedented feat of all three being named National Coach of the Year and going undefeated within the same decade.
Bowden got his first coaching gig under his father at FSU in 1982, before striking out on his own and, at the age of 26, becoming a head coach. He joined Louisiana-Monroe as the head coach for the 2021 season after spending two seasons with Clemson — the latest stop on a college coaching résumé that you can find below.
- Florida State (graduate assistant, 1982)
- Salem (head coach, 1983-1985)
- Akron (QB coach, 1986)
- Samford (HC, 1987-1992)
- Auburn (HC, 1993-1998)
- North Alabama (HC, 2009-2011)
- Akron (HC, 2012-2018)
- Clemson (graduate assistant/offensive analyst, 2019-2020)
- Louisiana-Monroe (HC, 2021-2023)
Defensive Coordinator, Vic Koenning
Vic Koenning has been responsible for some of the best college football defenses of this millennium. He joined the Louisiana-Monroe coaching staff for the 2022 college football season, serving as the defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach. He left his previous college role at West Virginia under a cloud, something that Koenning attempted to clear up in 2019.
“I remain apologetic to anyone who perceived something I said or did as hurtful,” Koenning said amidst allegations of player mistreatment. “That was never my intent. I am relieved the process is over but will be forever changed by the experience.”
In his first season at Malone Stadium, Koenning oversaw an improvement of over 20 yards per game allowed. Meanwhile, the pass defense gave up 13 fewer touchdowns in 2022 than in 2021. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise. His college coaching résumé — which can be found below — is littered with stories of defenses that improved significantly under his tutelage.
- Memphis State (graduate assistant, 1986-1990; defensive back coach, 1991-1996)
- Wyoming (DC, 1997-1999; HC, 2000-2002)
- Troy (DC, 2003-2004)
- Clemson (DC and DB coach, 2005-2008)
- Kansas State (co-DC, DB coach, and assistant HC, 2009)
- Illinois (DC, 2010-2011; interim HC, 2011)
- North Carolina (assistant HC and DC, 2012-2014)
- Troy (DC and safeties coach, 2015-2018)
- West Virginia (DC, 2019)
- Louisiana-Monroe (2022-2023)
Offensive Coordinator, Matt Kubik
Matt Kubik was the offensive coordinator and quarterback on the Louisiana-Monroe coaching staff the last time that the program avoided a losing season in 2018. After spending time at Southern Moss and Columbia High School in Mississippi, he returned to the Warhawks for the 2022 college football season to reprise his previous role for head coach Bowden.
Kubik was the Offensive MVP for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs as a senior quarterback, with his success on the field paving the way for a career in coaching. Across a 17-year career covering high school and college, he has been responsible for high-scoring offenses while developing talents like WR Marcus Green and quarterback Caleb Evans, a Warhawk record-setter.
In addition to multiple stops at college and high school programs — he began his coaching career at Catholic High School in Baton Rouge — Kubik has been a fixture at the Manning Passing Academy, helping to mentor the next great quarterbacks in college football. His full college coaching résumé can be found below.
- Northwestern State (WR coach, RB coach, recruiting coordinator, 2007-2010)
- Central Arkansas (WR coach, 2011-2013)
- Stephen F. Austin (OC and QB coach, 2014-2015)
- Louisiana-Monroe (OC and QB coach, 2016-2019)
- Southern Miss (OC and QB coach, 2020)
- Louisiana-Monroe (OC and QB coach, 2022-2023)
Special Teams Coordinator, Jason Rollins
Jason Rollins joins the Louisiana-Monroe coaching staff for the 2023 college football season, where he’ll take charge of the Warhawks’ special teams unit. Rollins boasts an impressive and varied résumé that has seen him serve as an interim HC at Southern University, work as the defensive coordinator at UTSA and Tulane, and coach at his alma mater, McNeese State.
Linebacker Coach, Ron West
After being hired as the special teams coordinator and defensive ends coach for head coach Bowden’s first Louisiana-Monroe coaching staff, Ron West has transitioned to the linebackers coach for the 2023 college football campaign. Additionally, he serves as an associate head coach, bringing over 40 years of experience on both sides of the ball to Warhawks football.
Running Back Coach, Broderick Fobbs
No stranger to football in the state of Louisiana, Broderick Fobbs has had stints with the Ragin’ Cajuns and Ruston High School during a coaching career that led to his appointment as the RB coach at Louisiana-Monroe in 2023. However, he’s most famous for his success at Grambling State — leading the Tigers to three consecutive SWAC titles, winning two of them from 2015-2017.
Wide Receiver Coach, John Carr
John Carr is in his second stint as the Louisiana-Monroe wide receiver coach, rejoining the program in 2022 after spending the 2018 season at Malone Stadium. A Louisiana Tech legacy whose father was a two-time All-American receiver for the Bulldogs, Carr played in Ruston before embarking on a coaching career that has included high school, JUCO, and FBS experience.
Defensive Line Coach, Cody Grice
After spending the past two seasons working as an analyst for the Warhawks, Cody Grice earned a full-time position on the Louisiana-Monroe coaching staff for the 2023 campaign. Grice played and worked for Bowden during his stint at Akron and was a two-time captain who was extremely productive from the nose tackle position. He has also coached at the high school level.
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Tight End Coach, Davis Lewandowski
One of the youngest coaches in college football, Davis Lewandowski is just four years removed from his playing career at Michigan State. He joined the Louisiana-Monroe coaching staff in 2020, where his work as an assistant on both sides of the ball has resulted in a promotion to tight end coach for the 2023 college football season.
Defensive Back Coach, Otis Mounds
Otis Mounds was a player on head coach Bowden’s team in his first two seasons at Auburn. Their paths also crossed at Akron, where Mounds served as the defensive back coach and defensive passing game coordinator for four years and was the recruiting coordinator in his final year with the Zips. The 2023 college campaign is his second on the Louisiana-Monroe staff.
Offensive Line Coach, Kyle Segler
With the departure of Maverick Morris, Kyle Segler shifts from being the Louisiana-Monroe tight end coach to working with the Warhawks’ offensive line. While a large part of his FBS coaching résumé has been spent developing tight ends, he was the offensive line coach at Sam Houston for eight seasons, where he molded four All-Americans and a Southland OT of the Year.
