Former ('82-'86) SMU DC Joins Texas A&M Staff

[Cheesesteak]

Wednesday, February 8, 2006 - aggieathletics.com

COLLEGE STATION, Texas- Bill Clay has been named a defensive assistant coach by Texas A&M Head Football Coach Dennis Franchione.

“I am pleased to announce Bill Clay has agreed to join our coaching staff,” Coach Fran said. “He is very well respected in the coaching profession and has a great deal of experience. Bill brings a wealth of knowledge to the table and he will fit our scheme quite well.”

Clay had served as inside linebackers coach at Louisiana Tech last year after serving four seasons as the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State. Clay has coached 34 years on the collegiate level with 18 of those years as a defensive coordinator and he has participated in 11 bowl games.

“I am excited about the opportunity to be a part of this coaching staff and to be an Aggie,” Clay said. “Texas A&M is a place that takes great pride in outstanding defense and I can guarantee my players will be excited and enthusiastic about playing football.”

Clay will work with the safeties and Melvin Smith will move from safeties to coaching the cornerbacks.

Clay is a 1966 graduate from the University of Arkansas where he lettered two years in football. He started his coaching career on the high school level at Ganby High School in Norfolk, Virginia.

After four years of coaching high school, Clay landed a job on the Virginia staff for three years (1969-71) before moving to Virginia Tech in 1972. He served on the South Carolina staff (1973-74) before taking a spot at Southern Mississippi. With the Golden Eagles, he worked on the defensive staff from 1976-79 before taking the defensive coordinator position with USM in 1980-81. Clay joined the SMU Mustangs as defensive coordinator from 1982-86. He spent one year working on the professional level with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1987. Clay came back to the collegiate ranks with a coordinator position with Temple (1988) before taking a job at Mississippi State. After serving as an assistant coach for two seasons (1989-90) he took over the defensive coordinator role from 1991-95. He left Starkville for El Paso, serving as the defensive coordinator in 1996 at UTEP. Clay worked as the defensive coordinator at Alabama-Birmingham from 1997-2000 before joining the Oklahoma State staff as defensive coordinator from 2001-04.

Some highlights from his career include: two years at Southern Mississippi with the defense ranking in the Top 10 both seasons and the 1980 squad led the country in scoring defense allowing only 8.1 points per game; at SMU, his defensive unit held Dan Marino and the Pittsburgh Panthers to only three points in a 7-3 Cotton Bowl victory, it marked the only time in Dan Marino’s collegiate career to be held without a touchdown; his 1983 Pony defense ranked second in scoring defense allowing 9.9 points per game; at Mississippi State, his defenses were nationally ranked in 1991, 1992 and 1994; at UTEP, he took over a defense which ranked last in the WAC and moved to second in only one season; at OSU, Clay helped beat the Oklahoma Sooners two years and helped the Cowboys beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers for the first time in over 40 years.

Clay, a native of Marianna, Arkansas, is married and his wife’s name is Marimarlene. Children include Christiana Long, Kim Bennett, Amanda Clay and Kelly Atwood.

[jtstang]

Didn't Hans Gruber try to pose as him once?