Appalachian State University Football: A History of Head Coaches
Appalachian State University's football program, since its inception in 1928, has a storied history shaped by the contributions of its head coaches. From the early pioneers who laid the foundation to the modern leaders navigating the ever-changing landscape of college football, each coach has left their mark on the Mountaineers. This article explores the lineage of Appalachian State head football coaches, highlighting their achievements and the evolution of the program.
Early Years and Coaching Pioneers
The program began in 1928. Flucie Stewart and E. C. Duggins each served twice as head coach of the Mountaineers.
Mack Brown: A Springboard to Success
Before his head coaching job at Appalachian State, Brown served as an assistant coach at Florida State, Southern Miss, Memphis, Iowa State and LSU. Mack Brown began his successful head-coaching career with a one-year stint at Appalachian State in 1983, leading the Mountaineers to a 6-5 record. Brown began his successful head-coaching career with a one-year stint at Appalachian State in 1983, leading the Mountaineers to a 6-5 record. After a successful season as the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma under Hall of Fame coach Barry Switzer, he became the head coach and athletics director at Tulane in 1985. During 10 seasons as the head coach at North Carolina from 1988-97, Brown won 69 games - tied for the second most victories in school history. Brown’s Tar Heels would post winning records in his final eight seasons and go to bowl games every year beginning in 1992, including a win in the 1993 Peach Bowl, the program's first bowl appearance since 1986. The 1996 ACC Coach of the Year led North Carolina to three 10-win seasons, and the team finished in the top 25 four times, including a No. 10 ranking in 1996 and the No. It was at Texas from 1998-2013 where Brown would see his greatest success. Boasting the highest winning percentage (76.7%) in school history among coaches with at least 10 years at the helm, his 158 career wins are second only to Hall of Fame coach Darrell Royal in Longhorn history. During the 2005 season, Brown guided Texas to its first national championship in 35 years after defeating Southern California at the Rose Bowl in one of the greatest games in college football history. The 2009 Big 12 Coach of the Year won two conference titles (2005, 2009), four Big 12 South Division titles and led the Longhorns to another appearance in the BCS National Championship following the 2009 season. A two-time National Coach of the Year at Texas, Brown won more than 10 games in nine consecutive seasons, and his teams posted 13 top 25 finishes, including seven in the top 10. Over his entire career, Brown coached 37 First Team All-Americans, six Academic All-Americans, 110 first team all-conference selections and 11 conference Players of the Year. He also coached two College Football Hall of Famers in Dre Bly (North Carolina) and Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams (Texas), and four NFF National Scholar-Athletes, including Campbell Trophy® winners Sam Acho and Dallas Griffin at Texas. Brown posted 20 consecutive winning seasons from 1990-2009, and his 225 wins from 1990-2013 were the most among FBS coaches during that span. A native of Cookeville, Tenn., Brown played running back at Vanderbilt and Florida State. A member of the Texas Longhorns Hall of Honor, Brown is also enshrined in the Rose Bowl, State of Texas Sports, State of Tennessee Sports and Holiday Bowl halls of fame.
Shawn Clark Era: Maintaining a Winning Tradition
Shawn Clark was hired as the 22nd head football coach in App State history on Dec. With Shawn Clark as the team’s head coach, App State had yet to suffer a losing season. During a 9-5 season in 2023, he posted his third bowl victory, a third straight season with a win against a Top 25 opponent and a third season with at least nine victories. Clark added the 2023 bowl win to postseason victories in 2019 and 2020. Entering 2024, the Mountaineers had won three of their last five games against ranked teams thanks to top-20 victories in 2023 (at previously unbeaten James Madison), 2022 (at No. 6 Texas A&M) and 2021 (against Coastal Carolina). Clark was the only first-year FBS head coach in 2020 to win at least nine games, and he followed that by directing the Mountaineers to double-digit victories in 2021. A 17-14 win at No. Clark made his official head coaching debut while leading the Mountaineers to a 31-17 victory against UAB in the 2019 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl eight days after his introductory press conference. In 2020, while playing in the nation’s No. 5-ranked league, the Mountaineers secured a Myrtle Beach Bowl title and were one of just 13 teams nationally with at least nine victories - the three losses were against teams with a combined 28-5 record. Overseeing talented, hard-working offensive lines, he followed a December 2018 coaching change involving college teammate Scott Satterfield’s departure for Louisville by excelling as an aggressive offensive play-caller in a 45-13 bowl victory against Middle Tennessee. In each of Clark’s four seasons coaching App State’s offensive line, with the Mountaineers earning four straight Sun Belt Conference titles while compiling a 43-10 record in that span, the line ranked in the top 25 nationally in both rushing yards per game and fewest sacks allowed. An offensive lineman in college, Clark was a two-time All-American (1996 and 1998) and three-time all-conference selection (1995, 1996, 1998) for teams that went a combined 45-16 during his first five years in Boone. His wife, Jonelle, was a standout softball student-athlete at Eastern Kentucky and was inducted into EKU's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008. Clark began his college coaching career at Louisville in 2001 and has been part of nine teams that won at least nine games. The Colonels had a winning record in each of those six seasons, and Clark coached three All-Americans who went on to play in the NFL. Eastern Kentucky went a combined 17-7 with back-to-back league titles and FCS playoff appearances before Clark moved on to Purdue for a stint that ran from 2009-12. A head coaching change contributed to Clark relocating to Kent State, where he coached the offensive line from 2013-15. In 2016, the Mountaineers led the Sun Belt in rushing offense (250.9 yards per game to rank No. 10 nationally as well as No. The Mountaineers led the Sun Belt in both rushing yards and fewest sacks in 2017, as they allowed only eight sacks (No. 2 nationally) and averaged 223.6 rushing yards per game to rank 22nd nationally. The 2018 team ranked 14th nationally in rushing yards per game (240.3) and 20th nationally with only 18 sacks allowed. Hometown: Charleston, W. Birthdate: Aug. The Mountaineers went 5-6 in 2024 and weren’t bowl-eligible after they went into the season with expectations to compete for the Sun Belt title.
Dowell Loggains: The Dawn of a New Era
A respected offensive play-caller at both the NFL and college levels, Dowell Loggains was named the head coach of App State Football on Dec. Dowell Loggains signed a five-year contract that will pay him $1 million in base salary before incentives in 2025. That number will go up by $100,000 every year over the next five seasons. Hired at the age of 44, Loggains (pronounced LOG-ans) became the 23rd head football coach in program history. He brings experience as a leader and play-caller at the highest levels of professional and college football. YearsTeamPosition2025-PresentApp StateHC2023-24South CarolinaOC/QBs2021-22ArkansasTEs2021Penn StateOff. Dowell Loggains is 0-0 in the FBS as a head coach. South Carolina was 42nd in the FBS with 31.6 points per game and was 49th with 409.2 yards per game after the 2024 regular season. Before serving as South Carolina's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Loggains was an assistant for two years at his alma mater, Arkansas, after spending 17 years in the NFL. Loggains' offense during the 2024 season helped the Gamecocks reach the brink of the College Football Playoff with a 9-3 regular-season record that included wins over Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Missouri and Clemson. He developed redshirt freshman LaNorris Sellers into one of college football's most dangerous dual-threat quarterbacks. Under Loggains' watch, Sellers threw for 2,274 yards with 17 touchdowns while also rushing for 655 yards and seven scores against one of the country's toughest schedules. Loggains graduated from the University of Arkansas with a bachelor's degree in kinesiology in 2003 and a master's degree in education in 2005. In Columbia, Rattler set a school record by completing 68.9 percent of his pass attempts for 3,186 yards, the third-highest single-season total in school history. Though Loggains did coach tight ends at Arkansas from 2021-22, he was primarily a coach in the NFL before that. He was with the Tennessee Titans from 2006-13 first as a coaching administrative assistant, then as a quality control coach, then as a passing game coordinator and QBs coach before becoming the team’s OC. Before returning to his alma mater of Arkansas, Loggains served as the New York Jets’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2019 and 2020. During his first season with the Jets, he guided an offense that was among the league’s most proficient on opening drives, scoring 40 first-possession points. Loggains oversaw a Miami offense that averaged 4.68 yards per rush in 2018, the NFL’s ninth-best mark. The Dolphins also ranked second in the league with 14 passing touchdowns of 20-plus yards. Loggains was promoted to the Bears’ offensive coordinator in 2016 and helped Howard finish sixth in the league with 1,313 yards rushing as a rookie. Loggains also groomed another rookie, fourth-round pick Tarik Cohen, that season. The running back became the first rookie since 1965 and first player since 1975 to record a rushing, passing, receiving and punt return touchdown in the same season. Loggains worked as the Cleveland Browns quarterbacks coach in 2014 under offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. Loggains began his coaching career with Tennessee in 2006 and spent eight seasons with the Titans in a variety of roles, ultimately serving as the offensive coordinator for part of 2012 and all of 2013. Loggains’ first professional experience came with the Dallas Cowboys as a scouting assistant in 2005. He is a great recruiter and believes strongly in building relationships. “We are very excited for Dowell Loggains to be the next leader of App State Football and to welcome him, his wife, Beth, and their children, Reese, Aven, Conner and Ryne, to the App Family. “I’m fired up for Dowell and Beth. It’s a great testament to him to get an opportunity with a program like App State and become a head coach. He’s worked really, really hard for the opportunity. Obviously, I hate that we’re losing him, but excited for him and I know he’s excited as well. “Appalachian State made an outstanding hire in Dowell Loggains. Dowell is an incredibly smart, hardworking and talented coach. His humble leadership style and ability to see the big picture will be great assets and culture drivers. Dowell is a family man who understands the importance of strong relationships with his players and staff. “So excited for Dowell and App State. “Coach Loggains is a coach with a wealth of knowledge and experience in the game of football. As a former player of his, I saw firsthand the type of leader he is and his daily approach in preparation in the NFL. “Coach Loggains embodies App State’s commitment to adapting to the evolving landscape of college football. His NFL experience and offensive expertise bring the knowledge and leadership necessary to drive continued and sustainable success. “App State fans should be excited about the hiring of Dowell Loggains! He's well-known in the college ranks as one of the best recruiters in the country. On top of that, he's a great developer of quarterbacks. At the NFL level, Dowell was known for his creativity on third down. “App State should be excited about the hiring of Dowell Loggains. He is a player’s coach who will get through to them and have the ability to bring the best out of each and every player. “Dowell is one of the best coaches and people I’ve been around. He knows how to lead men and has a real swagger to him. He taught me a lot about the game and set me up for success.
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