Brian Dougherty - Safeties & Nickels - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Brian Dougherty

Title:
Safeties & Nickels
Email:
Phone:
716-645-3177

Brian Dougherty is in his second season as safeties and nickels coach.

In 2024, the Bulls went 9-4 and defeated Liberty in the Bahamas Bowl.

In his first year, he helped coach a defense that led the Mid-American Conference with 13 interceptions.

Safety Solomon Brown ranked third on the team in tackles with 66 while adding an interception and six pass breakups, good for second on the squad.

Dougherty came to Buffalo after spending the 2023 season as defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at the University of Indianapolis.

In his lone season at UIndy, he helped lead the Greyhounds to a 9-2 record and oversaw one of the top defenses in not only the Great Lakes Athletic Conference, but all of Division II.

In 2023, Indianapolis led the GLAC in scoring defense (14.9) which also ranked eighth nationally. The Greyhounds also led the conference in defensive efficiency (12.8) and ranked second in total defense (290.5) and passing defense (176.0).

Prior to being hired a UIndy, Dougherty spent four seasons as the defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Valparaiso. He helped lead the Beacons to 12 Pioneer Football League victories over his final three seasons, setting a school record over that length of time.

In 2022, Dougherty’s defense led the PFL in in both redzone and fourth down defense, ranking eighth and sixth in the nation, respectively. Additionally, Valpo’s defense held rival Butler to just three points in a 47-3 victory on Nov. 13, 2021, shattering the program record for margin of victory against a Division I opponent.

Dougherty spent the 2018 season as the defensive backs coach at Tiffin University. He helped lead the Dragons to a 9-2 record and coached three all-conference honorees. He spent the 2016 and 2017 seasons as cornerbacks coach at Dayton. The Flyers held opponents to an average of 19.7 points per game over two seasons while leading the PFL in interceptions in 2016 and finishing second in 2017.

Dougherty spent two seasons as a graduate assistant under Lembo at Ball State, working with the wide receivers in 2015 and defensive backs in 2014.

He began his coaching career as cornerbacks coach at Millikin University in 2013.

Dougherty is a 2012 graduate of Miami (OH) where he was a student assistant and manager for the RedHawks football team. He earned a master’s degree in athletic coaching education from Ball State in 2016.