Marcus West (born November 6, 1983) is an American football coach and former defensive lineman who is the defensive line coach for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). Prior to being hired by the Bills as the assistant defensive line coach, he was the co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He played for the Indianapolis Colts, Amsterdam Admirals, and Hamilton Tiger-Cats before getting into coaching. He was promoted to defensive line coach of the Bills ahead of the 2024 season, following Eric Washington’s departure to become the defensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears.
| Buffalo Bills | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Defensive line coach | ||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Born: | November 6, 1983 Amory, Mississippi | ||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||
| Weight: | 280 lb (127 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | Columbus (MS) | ||||
| College: | Memphis | ||||
| Undrafted: | 2006 | ||||
| Career history | |||||
| As a player: | |||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||
| As a coach: | |||||
| |||||
| Career CFL statistics | |||||
| |||||
Coaching career
editWest began his coaching career at Wartburg College as a defensive line coach before going on to Chattanooga as a defensive line coach. He joined the coaching staff of fellow Chattanooga assistant Will Healy at Austin Peay in 2016 as a co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach.[1]
Minnesota
editWest was added to the coaching staff at Minnesota in 2018 as a defensive line pass rush specialist.[2]
Charlotte
editWest joined Healy's inaugural staff at Charlotte in 2019 as his assistant head coach and co-defensive coordinator.[3]
Buffalo Bills
editOn February 24, 2022, the Buffalo Bills hired West as their assistant defensive line coach,[4] replacing Jacques Cesaire, who left to become the defensive line coach for the Houston Texans.[5] On February 2, 2024, he was promoted to defensive line coach.[6]
Personal life
editWest is married to the former Nikki Blassingame, an assistant on the Chattanooga women's basketball staff who he met while coaching there.[7] Nikki is currently an assistant coach at NC State after spending one season at Charlotte.[8]
References
edit- ^ "West announced as co-DC and defensive line coach". Austin Peay State University Athletics. February 18, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
- ^ "Marcus West in, Bryce Paup reportedly out as Gophers football coaching changes continue". Star Tribune. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
- ^ "Marcus West joins Charlotte 49ers staff as assistant head coach". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
- ^ "Bills announce 10 moves on their coaching staff". BuffaloBills.com.
- ^ "Houston Texans announce 2022 coaching staff". Texans.com.
- ^ White, Alec (February 2, 2024). "Bills name Al Holcomb as linebackers coach, Marcus West as defensive line coach". BuffaloBills.com. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
- ^ "APSU assistant's marriage works with wife coaching in N.C." The Leaf Chronicle. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
- ^ "Women's Basketball Assistant West Returns to Wolfpack". Sports Illustrated. August 26, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2021.