ULM Warhawks

Veteran coach Ron West begins his first season on the sidelines at ULM in 2021 as special teams coordinator and defensive ends coach, joining head coach Terry Bowden and reuniting with offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez.

West brings nearly four decades of expertise as a collegiate coach to the Warhawks, including coaching experience in four Power 5 conferences. In addition to 19 seasons of coaching on offense and 19 years on defense, West’s background includes 11 years of experience as a coordinator. To date, West has coached in 19 bowl games with 10 victories and has coached and/or recruited 17 players who have gone on to professional careers.
 
Prior to his arrival in Monroe, West was hired in March 2020 as the linebackers coach at North Carolina Central.

West spent the 2019 campaign as a senior analyst (defense) at West Virginia University, where he organized, implemented and maintained all aspects of game analysis, including direct oversight of the game planning for the defense. He analyzed game film and formulated game plans to assist the Mountaineers’ coaching staff with game preparation.

The co-offensive line coach at Georgia Tech for three years (2016-18), West contributed to the powerful Yellow Jacket offense that led the nation in rushing (325.0 yards per game) en route to finishing second in the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division in 2018. Georgia Tech’s offensive line paved the way for a Top-10 national ranking in rushing offense for three-straight seasons (258.1 ypg. in 2016 and 307.4 ypg. in 2017).
 
In addition to leading the ACC and finishing fifth in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision in rushing offense in 2017, the Yellow Jackets featured two 1,000-yard rushers for only the second time in school history (TaQuon Marshall, 1,146 yards;  and KirVonte Benson, 1,053) and set a school single-season record with four 400-yard rushing games.

West, a 1979 Clemson graduate, letterman and then Tiger football coach for 10 years (1999-2008), returned to the ACC as co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at North Carolina for two seasons (2013-14). His coaching career started on the offensive side of the ball, first as offensive line coach at North Texas in 1980. West’s resume also includes 16 years coaching offensive lines, including stints at Texas Tech (1981-85), Baylor (1993-96), Tulane (1997-98) and Clemson (1999-2008). He spent seven years as the defensive coordinator at Louisiana Lafayette (1986-92), including serving as the assistant head coach in 1992.
 
In four years at Baylor, West worked for head coach Chuck Reedy and helped the Bears win a share of the Southwest Conference title in 1994. At Tulane, West was part of Tommy Bowden’s coaching staff and contributed to Rodriguez’s vaunted offensive scheme that propelled the Green Wave to a perfect 12-0 season and No. 7 final Associated Press national ranking in 1998.
 
With a chance to return to his alma mater, West joined the Clemson staff in 1999 as offensive line coach, moved to the defensive line in 2004, and spent his final four years with the Tigers coaching outside linebackers. In 2006, West coached one of the greatest players in Clemson history, the late Gaines Adams, the fourth overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. Adams was named to all five All-America teams in 2006 and was recognized as one of seven unanimous first-team All-Americans that season.
 
West earned junior college All-America honors at Marion Military Institute in Marion, Alabama, before transferring to Clemson for his last two seasons. He was a reserve offensive lineman for the Tigers in 1977 and 1978. He started two games as a senior and helped the Tigers post an 11-1 record and earn a No. 6 national ranking in the final Associated Press Poll.     
 
West and his wife Becky have two adult children, Brad and Lori, and two grandchildren, Wyatt and Lily.