Ron Vanderlinden announces retirement

Air Force inside linebackers coach Ron Vanderlinden announced his retirement today, closing a career covering more than four decades. Vanderlinden completed his sixth season at Air Force and 42nd in college football in 2019. He came to the Academy after 13 years at Penn State where he coached linebackers.

"After finishing a great 2019 season, it's a perfect time to conclude my coaching career and announce my retirement. I look forward to starting a new chapter for myself and my family," Vanderlinden said. "I want to thank Troy Calhoun for the opportunity to coach at the Air Force Academy. I can't think of a better place to finish my career. Working with these players and the quality coaching staff Coach Calhoun has assembled has been one of the highlights of my career. I would also like to thank the many coaches and players I have had the good fortune to work with and coach during my 42-year career. I feel very fortunate and blessed."

"Air Force Football has been remarkably blessed to have Ron and Lisa Vanderlinden as a part of our staff the past six years. Today marks the retirement of one of the finest to ever coach our game," Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun said. "There are too many remarkable team achievements of which Vandy was such a crucial and driving force of momentum to share them all. And yet there are some very impressive highlights that include: two teams at Colorado that played for national championships, back-to-back Big Ten championships as the defensive coordinator at Northwestern, a very sturdy foundation as the head coach at Maryland, and numerous top 20 teams at Penn State. And most recently here at the Air Force Academy, he's been a part of multiple Commander-in-Chief and bowl championships. In terms of sheer football credibility and leadership, Vandy has left an indelible influence with the many players, coaches and staff members that have been so fortunate to work alongside him over the past 42 years. And yet, most of all, it's the incredibly classy and respectful enthusiasm that each of us will most fondly appreciate of Vandy and Lisa. Thanks for how much you contributed to the Bolt Brotherhood and we will be forever grateful for your wonderful friendship!"
Vanderlinden's time at the Academy has been memorable. He helped the Falcons to four bowl games, including the 2019 Cheez-It Bowl that resulted in a 31-21 win over Washington State. Vanderlinden had two players, senior Kyle Johnson and junior Demonte Meeks, earn second-team all-conference honors. Johnson also earned the Defender of the Nation Award in 2019.

As linebackers coach for the Nittany Lions, Vanderlinden oversaw the school's traditional "Linebacker U." He helped develop a linebacker unit that included All-American 2005 Butkus and 2005/2006 Bednarik award winner Paul Posluszny, a consensus All-American and 2006 All-American and 2007 Bednarik Award winner Dan Connor. He also coached Michael Mauti to first-team all-Big Ten and first-team All-American honors in 2012. In addition, he had nine former players on NFL rosters in 2013.

In 1997, he was hired as the head coach of the Maryland Terrapins, a team without a bowl game and only one winning season since 1990. In both the 1999 and 2000 seasons, Maryland narrowly missed achieving a winning season and bowl game bid by losing their finale and ended both years with a 5-6 record. Vanderlinden recorded a 15-29 record.

Maryland improved significantly during Vanderlinden's tenure, winning more games in 1999 than the previous two years combined. His staff also recruited players who would be instrumental in the team's meteoric rise in 2001 to an ACC championship, a Bowl Championship Series game, and a top-10 final ranking. Some of these players included linebacker E.J. Henderson, quarterback Shaun Hill, and wide receiver Guilian Gary. Also during Vanderlinden's tenure, running back Lamont Jordan set the school record for single-game rushing with 306 yards.

Vanderlinden's 40-plus-year coaching career began in 1978, as a graduate assistant at Bowling Green, where he also earned a master's degree in 1979. He also coached as a graduate assistant at Michigan. His first full-time coaching position was with Ball State in 1981-82. From 1983 to 1991, he was the defensive line coach at Colorado under head coach Bill McCartney. During that time, Colorado won the 1990 National Championship and three straight Big 8 championships. From 1992 to 1996, Vanderlinden served as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Northwestern. There he played a part in the reversal of fortunes of a struggling football program into a two-time Big Ten champion. Northwestern led the nation in scoring defense in 1995 and played in its first Rose Bowl since 1936.
Vanderlinden is a 1978 graduate of Albion College where he played football as a four-year starting center. He was named all-conference two years and was part of the 1976 team that achieved a perfect 9–0 record. Both the 1976 and 1977 teams have since been inducted into the Albion College Hall of Fame.
Originally from Livonia, Mich., Vanderlinden played on two state championship teams at Divine Child High School in Dearborn, Mich., where he first interacted with McCartney, who was his high school head coach.

Vanderlinden and his wife, the former Lisa Eckstrom, have one son, Reid, a daughter, Chelsea and her husband David Schweer and two granddaughters, Lucy and Cora. Reid is a 2013 graduate of Johns Hopkins and was a four-year football letterman. He earned a master's degree at Penn State and is currently working at Temple in academic support. Chelsea is a fourth-grade teacher in Indianapolis, Ind.

Players Mentioned

Kyle Johnson

Demonte Meeks

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