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Quinn Announces Football Staff
1/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
BUFFALO, NY – Newly named University at Buffalo football head coach Jeff Quinn has announced his coaching staff, a group that has coached in over 25 bowl games, been part of national championship teams and has claimed Mid-American and Big East conference championships.
Greg Forest (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks), William Inge (defensive coordinator/linebackers), Ernest Jones (Associate head coach/defensive backs), Mike Daniels (running backs), Marty Spieler (tight ends/special teams),Jerome "Jappy" Oliver (defensive line) and Adam Shorter (offensive line) will join the UB coaching staff.
Juan Taylor, who has been on UB's staff since 2006, was retained as wide receivers coach. Quinn has one full-time staff position on defense left to fill as well as two graduate positions.
"The staff I have assembled are great teachers, leaders and recruiters," said Quinn. "They have all been on championship teams and know how to develop their players."
Forest, who will serve as Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks coach, spent the previous three seasons as the quarterbacks coach at Cincinnati. He was instrumental in the development of two-time All-Big East quarterback Tony Pike who threw for 2,520 yards and 29 touchdowns in 2009. Forest was instrumental in helping the Bearcats score a school record points in 2009, while UC won its second straight Big East title. Prior to arriving at Cincinnati, Forest spent three seasons at Central Michigan spending one season each instructing the receivers, running backs and tight ends. He worked primarily with the Chippewa running backs in 2005, molding freshman Ontario Sneed into a 1,000-yard rusher. Sneed went on to earn honorable mention All-Mid-American Conference and freshman All-America status from Sporting News and Rivals.com.
A native of Columbus, Ohio, Forest coached wide receivers for 11 years at Grand Valley State, mentoring the top five receivers in GVSU history, including the Lakers' all-time leading receiver David Kircus, who went on to play in the NFL. Three of his players garnered All-America recognition. Forest is a 1992 graduate of Ohio Northern University, where he coached with Quinn.
Inge, who will be the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, spent the last two seasons working with the linebackers at Cincinnati. In each of his two seasons with the Bearcats, the top two tacklers on the team were linebackers. Prior to arriving at Cincinnati, Inge spent two seasons as the linebackers coach at San Diego State. While with the Aztecs, he mentored leading tackler Russell Allen to All-Mountain West Conference honors. In 2005, Inge was the defensive line coach at Colorado where he helped lead the Buffaloes to the Big 12 North Division title and advance to the Big 12 championship game. In 2001, Inge was hired as a defensive assistant at Northern Iowa. Over his four seasons with the Panthers, he was elevated to co-defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator. Inge was a four-year letterwinner at Iowa where he earned a bachelor's and master's degree.
Jones, who will be UB's Associate Head Coach, will handle the secondary and serve as recruiting coordinator for the Bulls, while also overseeing the "Bulls in the Community." He was the director of player services and running backs coach at Cincinnati in 2009 after spending the 2008 season at Alcorn State. Jones was the running backs coach at Cincinnati in 2007 as well as two seasons at Central Michigan. He helped develop a Central Michigan rushing attack that averaged 127.9 yards per game. Jones also had coaching stints at Concordia, Kentucky State and Oberlin. He is a 1995 graduate of Alcorn State and earned a master's degree from Concordia in 2002.
Oliver comes to Buffalo after spending three years at Notre Dame as the Irish defensive line coach and boasts over 30 years of collegiate coaching experience. From 2005-08, Oliver helped the growth of Irish defensive ends Victor Abiamiri and Chris Frome as well as defensive tackles Derek Landri and Trevor Laws. Abiamiri was a second-round pick in the 2007 NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, while Landri was chosen that same year in the fifth round by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Laws was drafted by the Eagles in the second round of the 2008 draft and became the earliest Irish defensive tackle selected since Bryant Young was taken in the first round 14 years earlier. Frome was signed the day after the '07 draft as an undrafted free agent by the Chicago Bears and went to camp with the then-defending NFC champions.
Oliver spent 2003-04 as defensive line coach under former Irish head coach Lou Holtz at South Carolina, teaming with former Irish defensive coordinator Rick Minter to achieve a noteworthy turnaround on the defensive side in 2004 as the Gamecocks finished with a national ranking of 20th in total defense (315.18 yards per game). Oliver previously served on the staff of Air Force's Fisher DeBerry for eight seasons from 1995 through 2002, helping the Falcons to five postseason bowl appearances including wins in the Oahu Bowl (1998) and the Silicon Valley Bowl (2000).
Daniels, who also joins the staff from the University of Cincinnati, will coach the Bulls' running backs. He served as an assistant coach on the offensive staff and has an extensive football background both on and off the field. Daniels was a four-year letterwinner (2003-07) at Cincinnati as a wide receiver, running back and return man. He served as the team captain in 2007 and earned the Jim Kelly Spirit Award that same year. He was a multiple-year honoree on the Bearcats Academic Honor Roll en route to earning his bachelor's degree in criminal justice in 2007.
Spieler, who will coach the tight ends and serve as special teams coordinator, spent three seasons as an assistant at Cincinnati. He worked under coach Quinn handling extensive duties with practice and game plans and spent the spring of 2008 as the tight ends coach. Prior to Cincinnati, Spieler spent one season as the offensive tackles and tight ends coach at Allegheny College – his alma mater. He also served as a graduate assistant at Georgia Southern.
Shorter will coach the Bulls offensive linemen after serving in the same position at Delaware State last season. He spent 2008 at Alcorn State, where he was in charge of the offensive line and tight ends. While with the Braves, Shorter was instrumental in the success of 2008 All-Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) offensive lineman Bronson Carvalho. Shorter began his coaching career as a graduate assistant with the University of Cincinnati (2005-2007). Shorter was a four-year letterman at Cincinnati, where he was the team's starting center. He was the recipient of the John Pease Award as the Bearcats' most outstanding offensive lineman as a senior. Shorter appeared in three of Cincinnati's four bowl appearances during his tenure. He earned a bachelor's degree in integrated social studies in secondary education in 2004.
Remaining with the staff is wide receivers coach Juan Taylor. Taylor has seen his wide receivers rewrite most of the UB record book during his four seasons. Both of his seniors from last year – Naaman Roosevelt (first team) and Brett Hamlin (honorable mention) – earned All-MAC kudos. Roosevelt became the Bulls' career leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns under Taylor's tutelage after converting from quarterback as a freshman. Hamlin finished his career in the top ten in both receptions and yards in UB's record book.
Quinn also announced that Scott Pilkey will remain on staff as an administrative assistant. Pilkey has served on the UB staff for the past four years.
