GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- University of Florida head football coach Will Muschamp announced the hiring of Bryant Young to his coaching staff on Saturday. Young brings 14 years of NFL playing experience and a Super Bowl ring to a staff that already boasts 40 years of NFL coaching experience and four Super Bowl rings.
The Chicago Heights, Ill., native will coach the defensive line along with defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who coached Young as a 49ers assistant for four seasons (2001-04).
"Bryant is a great addition to our coaching staff," said Muschamp. "We want to be a program built on toughness -- both physically and mentally, and there are not too many people tougher than Bryant. He was a leader, blue-collar player and a winner. He will demand his players to have the same attributes."
Young played all 14 of his NFL seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, playing in and starting 208 games from 1994-2007. Only Jerry Rice (224) started more games in team history, and Young's games-played total is tied for third in San Francisco annals.
A four-time Pro Bowl selection (1996, 1999, 2001, 2002), Young tallied 89.5 career sacks, third in 49ers history. He also helped San Francisco reach the playoffs in each of his first five seasons, including a Super Bowl victory in his rookie season, and seven playoff appearances total over the span of his career. He was also one of four defensive tackles named the NFL's 1990's All-Decade Team.
Young was selected seventh overall in the 1994 NFL Draft and earned NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors after starting all 16 games and leading the team's defensive line with 49 tackles and adding six sacks.
Young also earned NFL Comeback Player of the Year recognition in 1999, posting 11 sacks in his second career Pro Bowl effort following a season-ending leg injury in 1998. Young was leading all defensive tackles in sacks in 1998 when he fractured his tibia and fibula in the 12th week and was sidelined for the remainder of the campaign.
Young excelled off the field for San Francisco, as well, as an eight-time recipient of the team's Len Eshmont award, symbolic of the player who best exemplifies courage and leadership. Young earned that honor in each of his final four seasons with the 49ers. Prior to Young, no player in the organization had won the award more than twice. Following his final home game, Young's teammates lifted him onto their shoulders and carried him off the field.
A four-year letterwinner at the University of Notre Dame from 1990-93, Young helped the Fighting Irish to a 40-8-1 record during his four years. A first-team All-America selection in 1993 as a senior captain and defensive tackle, Young started 30 of the 41 games he played at Notre Dame and totaled 176 tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss and 18 sacks during his collegiate career. He also played in four bowl games while at Notre Dame (started three of four bowl games but postseason statistics did not count toward individual totals).
Young returned to Notre Dame to begin his coaching career, serving as a defensive graduate assistant under Charlie Weis in 2009. He then secured his first full-time coaching position as defensive line coach at San Jose State in the 2010 season.
Personal Information
Birthdate: Jan. 27, 1972
Hometown: Chicago Heights, Ill. (Bloom Township High School)
Education: 1994
