Karl Dunbar

Karl Dunbar (born May 18, 1967) is an American football coach and former defensive lineman. He is currently the defensive line coach for the New York Jets, and previously coached the same position for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League.

Playing career
Dunbar played three seasons in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals. A second-team All-SEC defensive tackle as a senior at Louisiana State, Dunbar was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the eighth round, 209th overall, of the 1990 NFL Draft.

Coaching career
Shortly after his playing career ended, Dunbar started coaching at the high school level, first at Opelousas (LA ) High, in 1996, before moving to Beau Chene (LA) High in 1997. His return to college football came in 1998-99 at Division I-AA Nicholls State as the defensive line coach.

In 2000, he started working with the Tigers’ strength and conditioning program, before being hired as defensive line coach by Oklahoma State's Les Miles. At OSU, Dunbar tutored Kevin Williams during his breakout senior season and helped him become the first Cowboys defensive lineman to be a 1st-round draft pick since Leslie O'Neal 17 years earlier.

Moving on to the NFL, Dunbar was hired by Lovie Smith to guide to Chicago Bears defensive line. He helped tutor a young and talented line that included rookie 1st-round pick Tommie Harris and 2nd-rounder Tank Johnson. The Bears led the NFL in 3rd-down defense, allowing opponents to convert at a 30.5% rate while ranking 15th in the NFL in pass defense. After the 2004 season, Dunbar returned to his alma mater, which had just hired Les Miles as new head coach. In 2005, Dunbar’s linemen paved the way for the Tigers defense to rank #5 in the nation in total defense at 276.8 yards per game and 7th in the country in rushing defense at 94.8 yards per game. The defense also allowed only 15.2 points per game, which ranked 8th in the nation, and led the SEC with 39 team sacks.

In 2006, Dunbar returned to the NFL, as he was hired by the Vikings' new head coach, Brad Childress. Under his tutelage, the so-called "Williams Wall", consisting of defensive tackle Kevin Williams and nose tackle Pat Williams, led the NFL in defense against the run each year between 2006 and 2008. Over the same period, the Vikings only allowed an average of 70.8 rushing yards per game.

The New York Jets hired Dunbar on February 13, 2012 to serve as their defensive line coach.