Two-time national champion head coach David Dean is in his first season as the co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at Georgia Southern for head coach Tyson Summers. Dean, who had unprecedented success in his nine seasons as the Valdosta State head coach, proved his name belonged among the top in the nation when discussing the best coaches in the NCAA Division II’s ranks.
Dean twice led his team to the pinnacle of the NCAA Division II football world as his squad won national championships in both 2007 and 2012. Additionally, he led his squad to four more appearances in the NCAA Playoffs and tallied a career record of 79 wins against just 27 losses, a winning percentage of .745.
Twice Dean was named the American Football Coaches Association Division II Coach of the Year, having accomplished the feat in both 2007 and 2012 and received the organization’s Super Region II Coach of the Year honor in 2010. The individual accolades have not been reserved just for Dean during his tenure, as he had a player receive All-America recognition on 27 occasions, including six in his final season, while a Blazer was named All-Gulf South Conference 66 times under his watch.
Additionally, 10 Valdosta State Blazers that have played for Dean have gone on to the NFL - cornerback Maurice Leggett in 2008, linebacker Larry Dean in 2011, offensive tackle Ryan Schraeder and cornerback Matt Pierce, offensive guard Edmund Kugbila, who became VSU’s highest draft pick ever when he was selected in the fourth round by the Carolina Panthers, all in 2013 while wide receivers Gerald Ford and Seantavius Jones, linebacker Jeremy Grable, defensive tackle Lawrence Virgil and cornerback Dominique Wheeler all signed contracts in 2014. Leggett, a free agent signee, would go on to earn the Kansas City Rookie of the Year award and was also recognized during the his initial season in the league as the NFL Special Teams Player of the Week while Dean, another free agent signee, impressed the Minnesota Vikings so much with his dedication and work ethic that he was named the team’s Special Teams captain in just his second year in the league and was a finalist for the Pro Bowl as a special teams player.
Dean accomplished what very few on any level and in any sport have ever done in their first year as a coach, leading his Blazer squad to the 2007 NCAA Division II national championship. Along the way, Dean’s Blazers tallied a 13-1 record, including a 7-1 mark in the Gulf South Conference. In directing his team to the national championship, Dean became just the second NCAA Division II coach to win the title in his first year as a head coach, joining North Dakota State’s Earle Solomonson as the only coaches to accomplish the feat.
After trips to the playoffs in both 2008 and 2010, Dean once again led his squad to the top of the Division II football world in 2012 as the team capped off a 12-2 season with a 35-7 rout of previously unbeaten Winston-Salem State in the title game. After starting the season at 2-2, Dean’s squad reeled off 10 straight victories to end the season and made Dean just the 10th head coach in NCAA Division II history to win multiple championships during their career.
Dean became the eighth man to assume the title of head coach at Valdosta State in the program’s history on Jan. 19, 2007. He brought a wealth of knowledge to his new position as he had spent 19 years in the collegiate coaching ranks, including the role of Valdosta State’s offensive coordinator from 2000 through 2006.
Dean made an immediate impact on the Blazer football squad during his initial season in Valdosta in 2000 as VSU led the nation in both total offense, at 502.4 yards per game, and in passing offense (377.9) while finishing third in scoring offense, scoring 45.5 points per game. Dusty Bonner was named the Harlon Hill Trophy winner and was one of two VSU offensive players to earn All-America honors. The Blazers capitalized on the offensive success, tallying a 10-2 record while advancing to the second NCAA Regional appearance in school history.
Dean was once again instrumental in the Blazers’ success in 2002 as he helped the team reach its first ever national championship game. The offense continued to flourish, tallying 398.5 yards a game, good enough for 32nd-best in the nation. With Bonner gone to graduation, Dean groomed current VSU quarterbacks coach Buster Faulkner into an All-Gulf South Conference quarterback while running back Aaron Jenkins earned the school’s third straight GSC Offensive Player-of-the-Year honor. Valdosta State was 11th nationally in passing that season, throwing for 277.5 yards a game, and 16th in scoring, at 33.3 points per outing.
In 2004, the Blazers won their first national championship as Dean directed an offense that was 33rd nationally in total offense at 415.8 yards a game. VSU was 38th nationally in rushing offense that season and 46th in passing offense while finishing the season 26th in scoring offense.
Overall, 14 Valdosta State offensive players earned All-America honors during Dean’s seven seasons as the Blazers’ offensive coordinator while 25 times a VSU offensive player was named to the All-Gulf South Conference team. Additionally, the Blazers set 21 single-season team offensive records during Dean’s time as offensive coordinator while the special teams unit established five new school records. The Blazers won four Gulf South Conference championships during his tenure as offensive coordinator, tallied a 56-6 league record and advanced to six NCAA postseasons during that span.
Dean’s success at grooming offensive players began prior to his arrival at Valdosta State. Prior to his VSU tenure, Dean also served eight years as an assistant coach at West Georgia, the last two of which was spent as the Wolves’ offensive coordinator. He joined West Georgia in 1992 as the squad’s running backs coach before adding the title of special team’s coordinator in 1993. Prior to the 1998 season Dean took over the school’s offensive coordinator position as well as the quarterback coaching job. Wolves quarterback Jeremy Clements was named the Gulf South Conference Offensive Player-of-the-Year during Dean’s initial season as offensive coordinator, giving the coach four honorees in the five-year stretch from 1998-2002. West Georgia accumulated an 18-5 record during Dean’s two seasons as offensive coordinator, including an 8-1 mark and a GSC championship in 1999. Overall, West Georgia compiled a 59-28 record, won two GSC championships and beat Valdosta State seven times, an event that has happened just once in seven game since his migration to Valdosta in 2000, during Dean’s eight years with the school.
Dean began his coaching career at Valdosta State in 1988 as he began a four-year stint as wide receivers coach. He also served as wide receivers coach at Avondale High School during the 1987 season and spent the 1986 school year as a graduate assistant coach at Georgia Tech. Dean walked on to the Georgia Tech squad in 1982 and earned a scholarship the following season as he played wide receiver for the Yellow Jackets through the 1985 school year.
He is married to the former Stacie Stott, and the couple has three daughters – Caroline, Allison and Natalie.
The Dean File
Personal
Hometown: Avondale Estates, Ga.
Born: February 3, 1964 in Decatur, Ga.
Alma Mater: Georgia State (1987)
Education: Bachelor’s (business management)
Family: wife, Stacie; daughters, Caroline, Allison, Natalie
Playing Experience
Georgia Tech (1982-85)
Coaching Experience
2016-: Georgia Southern (co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers)
2007-15: Valdosta State (head coach)
2000-06: Valdosta State (offensive coordinator/wide receivers/special teams coordinator)
1998-99: West Georgia (offensive coordinator/running backs)
1993-1997: West Georgia (running backs/special teams coordinator)
1992: West Georgia (running backs)
1988-1991: Valdosta State (wide receivers)
1986-87: Georgia Tech (student assistant)
College Bowl/Postseason Experience
Head Coach
2015: NCAA Division II Playoffs (second round - head coach)
2014: NCAA Division II Playoffs (quarterfinals - head coach)
2012: NCAA Division II Playoffs (national champion - head coach)
2010: NCAA Division II Playoffs (first round - head coach)
2008: NCAA Division II Playoffs (second round - head coach)
2007: NCAA Division II Playoffs (national champion - head coach)
Assistant Coach
2005: NCAA Division II Playoffs (first round)
2004: NCAA Division II Playoffs (national champion)
2003: NCAA Division II Playoffs (first round)
2002: NCAA Division II Playoffs (runner-up)
2001: NCAA Division II Playoffs (quarterfinals)
2000: NCAA Division II Playoffs (first round)
Player
1985: Hall Of Fame (Georgia Tech vs. Michigan State)
Awards/Honors/Recognitions
Two-time D-II National Champions (2007, 2012)
Two-time AFCA Division II Coach of the Year (2007, 2012)
Schutt Sports Division II Coach of the Year (2007)
AFCA Regional Coach of the Year (2010)
Gulf South Co-Coach of the Year (2010)
