SAN ANTONIO — UTSA head football coach Larry Coker announced Tuesday that he has hired Neal Neathery (pronounced NETH-er-ee) as defensive coordinator. He also will tutor the linebackers and his hiring is effective immediately.
“Neal is a great addition to our staff,” Coker said. “He has outstanding character, is a terrific coach and does a fantastic job recruiting the state of Texas. He prefers the attacking style of defense that we want to play at UTSA and we’re excited to have him on board.”
Neathery is the seventh assistant coach hired by Coker, as he joins offensive coordinator Travis Bush, Tony Jeffery (wide receivers/special teams), Jim Marshall (offensive line), Mike Menefee (defensive backs), Eric Roark and David Ross.
“I am really excited about the challenge and potential that UTSA has ahead,” Neathery said. “There’s something to be said about having a chance to do something that’s never been done before. It’s a great opportunity.
“I’m particularly excited about working with Coach Coker and the staff he has already assembled. Coach is a man of high character and I admire what he’s already accomplished in his career and what I think he will accomplish at UTSA. He has hired some outstanding coaches already, so I’m just excited to be a part of it and ready to get to work.”
Neathery, 39, comes to UTSA from Drake, where he served as assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach under head coach Chris Creighton from 2008-09. During his two seasons in Des Moines, Iowa, the Bulldogs posted a 14-8 record and, as defensive coordinator, he guided the Bulldogs to the top 12 in four defensive categories in the final 2009 NCAA Football Championship Subdivision statistics. Drake ranked No. 2 in tackles for loss, averaging 8.83 per game; No. 5 in quarterback sacks, averaging 3.27 per game; No. 8 in rushing defense, allowing just 90.55 yards per game and 12th in total defense limiting opponents to 276.45 yards per game.
In 2009, Drake matched the best nine-game start in school history (8-1) en route to an 8-3 record. The Bulldogs also finished second in the Pioneer Football League with a 6-2 ledger. Neathery’s defense held opponents to 17.1 points per game and posted 39 sacks, eight interceptions and a pair of shutouts. In his first season, the Bulldogs allowed just 17.8 points and 266.3 yards per contest and registered 14 INTs and three shutouts in a 6-5 campaign.
He was the associate head coach at Wabash College from 2001-07 and was named the American Football Coaches Association NCAA Division III Assistant Coach of the Year in 2007. With Neathery serving as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, Wabash ranked No. 4 in NCAA Division III in total defense in 2003, No. 3 in scoring defense in 2005 and No. 8 in quarterback sacks in 2007.
Neathery was defensive coordinator at Ottawa (Kan.) University from 1997-2000, with teams compiling a combined 32-7 record while winning the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference championship in 1997 and 2000 en route to competing in the NAIA playoffs
He began his college football coaching career at Sterling (Kan.) College, where he served as defensive line coach in 1994 and linebackers coach in 1995 before being promoted to defensive coordinator in 1996.
A 1993 graduate of Wheaton (Ill.) College where he was a four-year starter at defensive end from 1989-93, Neathery served as a captain his senior year. He earned the James Parmalee Most Respected Player Award.
The Stillwater, Okla., native earned his bachelor’s degree in business/economics and bible and theology from Wheaton in 1993 He earned a master's degree in health and human performances from Fort Hayes State in 1995.
He and his wife, Rebecca, have three children: Parker, 13; Michael, 12; and Hannah, 10.
