Tim Landis Position: Head Coach Experience: Third Year

Tim Landis enters his third year at the helm of the Saint Mary’s College football program. Landis, who became the 16th head coach on March 10, 2000, brings enthusiasm and a unique perspective to the field, while providing excitement to Gael football.

Landis led the Gaels to a 6-5 record in 2001 and was named the NCAA Division I-AA Independent Coach of the Year. The Gaels’ 6-5 record tied for the best record among the 12 independent schools. During the 11 game season, Landis’ offense was ranked in the top-five in rushing all season, before finishing fourth in the nation with 279.7 rushing yards per contest. The Gaels averaged 388.4 yards of total offense per game, finishing 43rd in the country. Defensively, Saint Mary’s held opponents to 22 points per contest and finished 27th in the country with 14 interceptions on the season. Landis guided the Gaels to back-to-back winning campaigns, for the first time since 1995-96, with identical 6-5 records the last two years.

To go along with his Coach of the Year honor, four players garnered national recognition following the 2001 campaign. Defensive end Travis White was named a First Team I-AA All-American by the Associated Press and the American Football Coaches Association. White finished his senior season with 10.5 sacks, which tied for 4th in I-AA football. Three players were named to the District VIII All-Academic team when guard Nathan Frowsing garnered his second straight first team honor and slot back Andre Coleman and wide receiver Nate Brown earned second team honors. With the addition of offensive lineman Jed Bodger to the District VIII All-Academic Second Team in 2000, Landis has coached four players to regional all-academic honors at Saint Mary’s.

In his first season, Landis led the Gaels to a six wins, which included victories over Colgate, Towson, and Drake. His spread option offense was ranked 24th in the nation (I-AA) in total offense (434.4 ypg) and fourth in the country with 309.5 yards rushing per game. Landis’ rushing attack eclipsed the 500-yard mark three times, including a school record 535 yards in the season finale against Drake. The offense set a new standard at Saint Mary’s with 4,778 yards of total offense and tied a school mark with 50 touchdowns in a single season. Landis’ defense also received national attention, finishing 12th in the country with 32 total turnovers, which included 19 interceptions, 12th in the nation, and 13 fumble recoveries, 37th nationally.

Aside from his coaching duties at Saint Mary’s, Landis serves as the I-AA Independent representative on the Administrative Committee for the I-AA Football Board of Directors. He also served as the chairman of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Summer Manual Committee from 1998-2000.

Before being named head football coach at Saint Mary’s, Landis served a seven-year stint as head coach at Davidson College where he accumulated a career record of 35-36-1 (.493). In his last two seasons with the Wildcats, he guided the team to historical seasons, posting an 8-2 mark in 1998 and 8-3 record in 1999 – matching the school’s highest win total in the 102-year history of the program. Prior to Landis’ tenure at Davidson, the school had never won more than seven games in a single season. In the 10 years prior to his arrival, the program totaled only 22 wins, posting a record of 22-76 from 1983-92. He brought Davidson football to Division I-AA in 1993 and the team began play in the Pioneer League in 2001.

The Davidson team of 1999 finished the season as the ninth ranked Division I-AA Non-Scholarship team in the nation after winning the final seven games of the season. The defense recorded a school-record 28 interceptions to lead the country, eight of which were picked off by junior All-American Ryan Crawford. The 13th ranked rushing defense in NCAA I-AA allowed a stingy 101 yards per game and blocked an NCAA Division I-AA record 13 kicks.

Landis’ 1998 Davidson team finished fifth in the I-AA Non-Scholarship poll. Landis’ defense was nothing shy of dominating that year, ranking in the top 12 in four categories. The defense led the country in I-AA pass efficiency defense, ranked second in scoring defense (10.4 points per game), ranked fourth in total defense (231.9 yards per game) and finished 12th in rushing defense (108 yards per game). In addition, the unit totaled 24 interceptions.

The 38-year old Landis originally joined the Davidson staff in 1991 as an assistant coach and took over the program just two years later, at 29 years of age. Off the field, he also served stints as the school’s Director of Athletic Facilities and assistant baseball coach.

Prior to Davidson, Landis was the Athletics Director, head football coach and head baseball coach at Morrisville High School. In 1989, he led his football team to an 8-2 mark and was named Coach of the Year by the Bucks County Courier Times, the Bicentennial Athletic League and the Independence Football League.

Landis is a 1986 graduate of Randolph-Macon College where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. He was a first team all-conference selection as a quarterback in football and pitcher in baseball and was inducted into the College’s Hall of Fame in September of 2000. He began his coaching career, following his playing days at Randolph-Macon in 1986 as an assistant football coach for the Yellow Jackets. Landis was also inducted into his high school, The Hun School, Hall of Fame in May of 2002.

Landis currently resides in Moraga, California with his wife Karen, 10-year-old son, T.J., and one-year-old daughter Jordan.

Assistant Coaches
Jeff Hammerschmidt - Defensive Coordinator
Tripp Merritt - Assistant Head Coach
Ian Shields - Offensive Coordinator
Kurt Bryan - Wide Receivers
Brian Cowan - Offensive Line
Eddie Ford - Linebackers
Jim McDonald - Offensive Line
Steve Perry - Defensive Backs
Ernie Cornella - Kickers
Jim McDermott - Sideline Coach