MONROE, La.?ULM assistant head coach Ron Dickerson and defensive
coordinator Kim Dameron have accepted positions at Ole Miss to be a part of new
football head coach Houston Nutt's staff.
Dameron and Dickerson are both Arkansas alumni (Nutt's last coaching job),
and after completing his degree, Dameron joined Nutt as a graduate assistant in
Fayetteville in 1983.
A Rogers, Ark., native, Dameron has also served collegiate
coaching stints at Stephen F. Austin, Eastern Illinois, Cincinnati, Murray State, UNLV and Missouri State.
Dameron, who just completed his third year at ULM, coached a Warhawk
defense that ranked first against the rush in the Sun Belt. The Warhawks also ranked third in both total
defense and scoring defense.
The pair helped ULM
become bowl eligible for the first time since they made the jump to Division
I-A in 1994. The Warhawks ended the season winning five of their last six
games, including a 21-14 victory at Alabama.
This season's success should not come as a surprise as Dameron's
defenses have continually been among the best in college football. The ULM defense was third
nationally in turnovers gained and ninth in interceptions in 2006 and allowed
the fewest points in the Sun Belt.
In 2002 and 2003, Stephen F. Austin ranked in the nation's
top 10 for pass efficiency defense, while in 2000, Eastern Illinois finished 27th in the country
in total defense and ninth in pass efficiency defense. Dameron's 1996 Cincinnati
unit rated 13th in the NCAA in total defense and 14th in pass efficiency
defense, and the 1997 team, which won the Humanitarian Bowl, was nationally
ranked fifth in rushing defense and 33rd in total defense.
As the defensive coordinator for Nutt's Murray State staff,
Dameron directed the Racers to third in the country in total defense, second in
pass efficiency defense, 10th in rushing defense and sixth in scoring defense,
and the team went on to capture the 1995 Ohio Valley Conference title. He also
helped Missouri State to
consecutive Gateway Conference crowns in 1989 and 1990.
A 1996 Arkansas
graduate, Dickerson spent three years as Missouri State's running backs and special
teams coach before arriving at ULM
and tutored Bears tailback Cody Pratt to back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing
seasons, including the second-best rushing season in MSU history with 1,223
yards and 11 rushing touchdowns in 2003.
At ULM,
Dickerson coached the Warhawks secondary and served as the team's NFL
liaison. He is also the founder and
president of R.U.N.T. ? Recognizing Undeveloped Natural Talents, a youth
organization designed to improve opportunities for young people in and out of
athletics.
He has also held positions at Alabama State, Temple,
the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the XFL's Las Vegas Outlaws.
Following a four-year Razorback career (1989-92) that
featured a pair of bowl appearances, Dickerson, a native of Boleyi, Okla., played
professionally from 1993-96 for the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles,
and the Scottish Claymores of NFL Europe.
Quotes:
Kim Dameron
“Since I came to ULM
three years ago there has been an unbelievable transformation, both with the
campus and the football program. This
program is headed in the right direction under (head coach) Charlie
Weatherbie. I want to thank everyone
associated with ULM
and this community for their support.
The program is only going to continue to get better and there is not
anyone in the country doing more with less than Coach Weatherbie.”
Ron Dickerson
“I want to thank everyone at ULM for giving me the opportunity to coach
the young men here. I wouldn't be in the situation I am in now, if it were not
for them. There are some really
talented players in place here and this program is going to continue to get
better under Coach Weatherbie.”
Charlie Weatherbie
“I would like to wish both Coach Dameron and Coach Dickerson
the best of luck. They have both done a
great job at ULM,
not only as coaches, but as role models to our players. Part of this business is losing coaches, but
you hate to see them leave.”
