Upon hearing news of a certain Head Coach’s retirement last week, we updated and re-posted our “The Man, The Myth, The Legend: Jimmye Laycock” Article. If you haven’t already read it, we certainly hope you’ll give it a read, as it chronicles one of William & Mary’s most devout alums. Over the years, we’ve heard countless stories about Laycock’s impact on others. Whether it be his impact on players, coaches, or others associated with the program, he has undoubtedly touched the lives of many throughout his tenure in the ‘Burg.

Naturally, we at the W&M Sports Blog put our thinking caps on for this piece and conducted quite a bit of research. We wanted to see just how far we could extend Jimmye Laycock’s current coaching tree on 1st degree connections alone. We’ve defined “1st degree connection” as any player he coached or any coach that served under him since he took over as the head honcho way back in 1980.

The list spans multiple current NFL Head Coaches, NFL Offensive Coordinators, and college Head Coaches, among others. Laycock’s resume is staggering. Keep in mind, this is not even an exhaustive list, just names we were able to uncover given limited time. As a Head Coach at a small, academic school such as William & Mary, we’d say Jimmye has had a successful career. Wouldn’t you? Roll Damn Tribe.

 

Sean McDermott

W&M Football Alum, Safety (’98) & W&M Graduate Assistant (1998)

Current Role: Buffalo Bills Head Coach (2017-Present)

 

Mike Tomlin

W&M Football Alum, Wide Receiver (’95)

Current Role: Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach (2007-Present)

 

Dan Quinn

W&M Defensive Line Coach (1994)

Current Role: Atlanta Falcons Head Coach (2015-Present)

 

Alan Williams

W&M Football Alum, Running Back (’92)

Current Role: Indianapolis Colts Defensive Backs/Safeties Coach (2018-Present)

Hal Hunter

W&M Outside Linebackers & Strength/Conditioning Coach (1982)

Current Role: New York Giants Offensive Line Coach (2018-Present)

 

Brian Daboll

W&M Assistant Coach (1997)

Current Role: Buffalo Bills Offensive Coordinator (2018-Present)

 

Ivan Fears

W&M Football Alum, Running Back (’76) & W&M Grad Assistant/WR Coach/QB Coach (1976-1979)

Current Role: New England Patriots Running Backs Coach (2002-Present)

 

Danny Smith

W&M Assistant Coach (1980-1983)

Current Role: Pittsburgh Steelers Special Teams Coordinator (2013-Present)

 

Bill Stewart

W&M Assistant Coach (1981-1983)

Retired: Former West Virginia University Head Coach (2008-2010)

 

Michael “Pinball” Clemons

W&M Football Alum, Running Back (’87)

Current Role: Vice President, Toronto Argonauts (Canadian Football League) [formerly Toronto Argonauts Player, then Head Coach from 2000-2007]

 

Mike London

W&M Defensive Line Coach (1991-1994)

Current Role: Howard University Head Coach (2017-Present) [former University of Virginia Head Coach from 2010-2015]

 

Russ Huesman

W&M Assistant Coach (1984-1997)

Current Role: University of Richmond Head Coach (2017-Present)

 

Scott Boone

W&M Linebackers Coach/Defensive Coordinator (2004-2014)

Current Role: University of Arizona Assistant Coach/Linebackers Coach (2018-Present)

 

Matt Kelchner

W&M Assistant Coach (1984-2000)

Retired: Former Christopher Newport University Head Coach (2001-2016)

 

Wayne Lineburg

W&M Assistant Coach (1996-1997) & W&M Running Backs Coach (2000-2003)

Current Role: Wake Forest University Tight Ends/Special Teams Coach (2017-Present)

 

Ralph Friedgen

W&M Offensive Coordinator (1980)

“Retired:” Former University of Maryland Head Coach (2001-2010)

 

Tom Brattan

W&M Offensive Coordinator (1984-1991)

Current Role: Ave Maria University Offensive Line Coach (2016-Present) [former University of Maryland Offensive Line Coach for 13 years]

 

Dave Legg

W&M Outside Linebackers Coach (1991-1994)

Current Role: University of Richmond Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator (2007-Present)

 

Warren Belin

W&M Linebackers/Defensive Line Coach (1995)

Current Role: James Madison University Inside Linebackers Coach (2018-Present)

 

Brian Vaganek

W&M Defensive Line/Linebackers Coach/Defensive Coordinator (1995-2000)

Current Role: College of the Holy Cross Linebackers Coach (2017-Present)

 

Mike Kolakowski

W&M Defensive Coordinator (1988)

Current Role: Mercer University Defensive Coordinator/Outside Linebackers Coach (2013-Present)