Joe DeCamillis (born June 29, 1965) is an American football coach who is serving as the associate head coach and special teams coordinator for the South Carolina Gamecocks.[1] DeCamillis was formerly the special teams coordinator in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams for two seasons. Before that, he coached for the Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons, and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Joe DeCamillis
South Carolina Gamecocks
Position:Special teams coordinator
Personal information
Born: (1965-06-29) June 29, 1965 (age 59)
Arvada, Colorado, U.S.
Career information
High school:Arvada (CO)
College:Wyoming
Career history
As a coach:
Career highlights and awards
As a coach

Wrestling career

edit

DeCamillis did not play football in college. DeCamillis wrestled for the University of Wyoming where he was an All-American by virtue of finishing 8th at the 1988 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.[2][3][4]

Football coaching career

edit

Early career

edit

DeCamillis began his NFL career as an administrative assistant to his father-in-law, then Denver Broncos head coach Dan Reeves.[5] In 1991, DeCamillis joined the coaching staff as a special teams assistant under Harold Richardson.[6] When Reeves became head coach of the New York Giants in 1993, DeCamillis joined his staff as special teams coach.[7] He followed Reeves again in 1997, becoming the special teams coach of the Atlanta Falcons.[8] He was one of nine assistants retained by Reeves' successor Jim Mora.[9] In 2007 he was hired to coach special teams for the Jacksonville Jaguars.[10]

Dallas Cowboys

edit

In 2009, DeCamillis joined the coaching staff of the Dallas Cowboys. He had previously worked with Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips in Denver and Atlanta.[11] On May 2, 2009, the Dallas Cowboys practice facility collapsed during a wind storm. The collapse left DeCamillis and 11 other Cowboys players and coaches injured. DeCamillis and Rich Behm, the team's 33-year-old scouting assistant, received the most severe injuries. DeCamillis suffered fractured cervical vertebrae and had surgery to stabilize fractured vertebrae in his neck, and Behm was permanently paralyzed from the waist down after his spine was severed.[12] DeCamillis received much praise from the media and fans in the months following the incident for continuing to coach in his high energy style, wearing a neck brace, only 9 days following the incident.[13] He was finally able to remove the brace on August 10, 2009. The Cowboys gave him and Kyle Kosier the Ed Block Courage Award for 2009.

Chicago Bears

edit

On January 16, 2013, DeCamillis was hired by the Bears. He had been interviewed by the Bears for their head coaching position, but was later hired as special teams coach and assistant head coach.[14] On January 19, 2015, DeCamillis was replaced by Jeff Rodgers.[15]

Denver Broncos

edit

On January 20, 2015, DeCamillis was hired by the Denver Broncos.[16]

On February 7, 2016, DeCamillis was part of the Broncos coaching staff that won Super Bowl 50. In the game, the Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers by a score of 24–10.[17]

On October 13, 2016, DeCamillis served as the interim head coach for Denver's game against the San Diego Chargers while Gary Kubiak was recovering from an illness.[18] The Broncos lost 21–13 in his head coaching debut.[19]

Jacksonville Jaguars

edit

On January 13, 2017, DeCamillis was named as the special teams coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars.[20]

Los Angeles Rams

edit

He was hired by the Los Angeles Rams on January 21, 2021, as the special teams coordinator.[21] DeCamillis won his second Super Bowl ring when the Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.[22] He was fired on January 18, 2023.[23]

Texas

edit

In 2023, DeCamillis joined the staff of the Texas Longhorns football team as a special assistant to the head coach.[24]

South Carolina

edit

In 2024, DeCamillis joined the staff of the South Carolina Gamecocks football team as associate head coach and special teams coordinator.[25]

Head coaching record

edit
Team Year Regular season Postseason
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
DEN 2016 0 1 0 .000
Total 0 1 0 .000

Personal life

edit

DeCamillis and his wife Dana have two children, Caitlin and Ashley.[26] His wife is the daughter of former NFL coach Dan Reeves.[5]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Joe DeCamillis". University of South Carolina Athletics. January 29, 2024. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  2. ^ USA Wrestling. "Wyoming All-American wrestler Joe DeCamillis is interim coach for Super Bowl champion Broncos Thursday night". Teamusa.org. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  3. ^ "A Wyoming Cowboy Is Head Coach Of The Denver Broncos This Week". 1063cowboycountry.com. October 11, 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  4. ^ Holmes, Ryan. "Former Wyoming All-American Joe DeCamillis To Coach Denver Broncos". FloWrestling. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  5. ^ a b Burrows, Mike (August 17, 1990). "No news about Kay is good news for Reeves". Colorado Springs Gazette - Telegraph.
  6. ^ Lassiter, Jim (February 13, 1991). "Broncos are playing musical chairs with offensive coaches". Colorado Springs Gazette - Telegraph.
  7. ^ Kensler, Tom (January 30, 1993). "Henshaw accepts Giants job". Denver Post.
  8. ^ "Vermeil wasting no time with Rams". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. January 24, 1997.
  9. ^ Winkeljohn, Matt (January 20, 2004). "Falcons' staff hires 'lucky'". The Atlanta Journal - Constitution.
  10. ^ Stellino, Vito (January 9, 2007). "Jaguars add to staff Koetter to coordinate offense; DeCamillis in charge of special teams". Florida Times Union.
  11. ^ Archer, Todd (March 24, 2009). "Dallas Cowboys' coach Phillips breaks off-season silence". McClatchy - Tribune Business News.
  12. ^ "Cowboys Practice Bubble Collapse". Deadspin.com. May 2, 2009. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
  13. ^ DeCamillis makes inspirational return Archived May 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ Seligman, Andrew (January 16, 2013). "AP Source: Kromer new Bears offensive coordinator". Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  15. ^ "Bears bringing in Jeff Rodgers as special teams coordinator". Chicago Tribune. January 19, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  16. ^ "Broncos Hire Joe DeCamillis As Special Teams Coach « CBS Chicago". Chicago.cbslocal.com. January 20, 2015. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  17. ^ "Super Bowl 50 - Denver Broncos vs. Carolina Panthers - February 7th, 2016". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
  18. ^ Mason, Andrew (October 10, 2016). "Joe DeCamillis to guide Broncos while Gary Kubiak recuperates". Denver Broncos. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  19. ^ Heath, Jon (October 14, 2016). "Joe DeCamillis 'sick to stomach,' accepts blame after loss to Chargers". USA Today. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  20. ^ Oesher, John (January 13, 2017). "Joe DeCamillis named special teams coordinator". Jacksonville Jaguars. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  21. ^ Jackson, Stu (January 21, 2021). "Rams agree to terms with Joe DeCamillis to be team's new special teams coordinator". www.therams.com. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  22. ^ "Super Bowl LVI - Los Angeles Rams vs. Cincinnati Bengals - February 13th, 2022". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  23. ^ Williams, Charean (January 18, 2023). "Report: Rams part ways with five assistants, including special teams coach Joe DeCamillis". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  24. ^ DaSilva, Cameron (May 29, 2023). "Former Rams special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis hired by Texas Longhorns". USA Today. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  25. ^ "Joe DeCamillis". University of South Carolina Athletics. January 29, 2024. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  26. ^ Giants 70th Anniversary Year Book. p. 12.