Reggie Herring

Reginald Wayne Herring (born July 3, 1959) is an American football coach and former player. A former linebacker at Florida State University, he is currently the linebackers coach for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). Herring served as the interim head football coach for the University of Arkansas in the 2008 Cotton Bowl Classic.

College career
Herring played at Florida State University from 1978 to 1980, earning his bachelor's degree in criminology. As a player, he was a three-year starting linebacker, leading the team in tackles for three consecutive years. His 452 total tackles in his career ranks him third all-time for tackles in Florida State history and his 170 tackles during his 1980 senior season also ranks him third on the single-season tackle list. During his career with the Florida State Seminoles, he played in two Orange Bowls and one Tangerine Bowl, serving as team captain for the 1981 Orange Bowl team. His final two years at FSU, the Seminoles finished 11–1 and 10–2 and ranked in the top 10 in the final AP poll. In 1989, Herring was inducted into the Florida State Hall of Fame.

Early career
Herring first served as a graduate assistant coach at Oklahoma State University in 1981 under head coach Jimmy Johnson. After one year, Johnson promoted Herring to coach OSU's linebackers, a position that he would hold until 1985. During this time, Herring worked with quarterbacks coach Houston Nutt, under whom Herring would later serve as defensive coordinator at the University of Arkansas. In 1986, Herring left OSU to coach linebackers at Auburn University under head coach Pat Dye. At Auburn, Herring helped lead the Tigers to three consecutive SEC titles from 1987 to 1989.

In 1992, Herring was offered his first defensive coordinator position, though he continued to coach linebackers, at Texas Christian University. After two years at TCU, Herring left to coach linebackers at Clemson University. Herring was promoted to defensive coordinator for the Tigers for the 1997 season, and held that position through the 2001 season. In 2002, Herring accepted a position in the NFL with the Houston Texans to coach linebackers, after having been on the job as defensive coordinator at Ole Miss for less than a month. Although Herring only held the Texans position for two years, he coached the 2003 league-leader in tackles, Jamie Sharper. In 2004, Herring left the NFL to become defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at North Carolina State University. His first year at North Carolina State, the Wolfpack defense led the nation in total defense after ranking 89th in that category the year prior.

Arkansas
In 2005, Herring left North Carolina State for a defensive coordinator position with Houston Nutt at the University of Arkansas. At Arkansas, Herring improved the Razorback defense in almost every statistical category. In the 2006 season, Herring led a defense ranked 44th out of 119 Division I-A FBS teams. For his performance in 2006, Herring was a finalist for the Broyles Award, given annually the nation's top assistant coach in college football.

On November 26, 2007, after Houston Nutt left Arkansas to become the head coach at Ole Miss, Herring was announced as the interim coach of the Razorbacks for the Cotton Bowl Classic. The 24th-ranked Razorbacks lost the game 38–7 to 7th-ranked Missouri. He had said about the Capital One Bowl that his team needed to "...punch Mickey Mouse in the mouth."

Texas A&M
On January 4, 2008, Herring was named the defensive coordinator at Texas A&M by head coach Mike Sherman. Herring took part in the Aggies' 2008 recruiting, and resigned after National Signing Day to become the linebackers coach at the Dallas Cowboys.

Dallas Cowboys
Herring was hired by the Dallas Cowboys on February 8, 2008. He worked as the team's linebacker position coach under head coach Wade Phillips. With the help of his tutelage, the Cowboys led the NFL in quarterback sacks (59) during the 2008 season.

Houston Texans
Herring joined new Houston Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips in January 2011.

Personal life
Herring is married to the former Lisa Ward of Griffin, Georgia. The couple has a daughter, Caroline, and a son, Adam, who is a linebacker on the Auburn football team.