Ron Caragher

Ronald Allen Caragher (born January 24, 1967) is an American college football coach who is the current head coach for the San Jose State. Originally from Morgan Hill, California, Caragher played college football at UCLA and later became an assistant coach for UCLA football, first as a graduate assistant from 1994 to 1995 then as wide receivers coach from 1996 to 2002. From 2003 to 2006, Caragher served as running backs coach for Kentucky and was part of the 2006 Music City Bowl championship coaching staff.

Caragher first became a head coach with San Diego in 2007 and remained in that position until 2012; during his tenure, San Diego won three Pioneer Football League championships, including in his first and final seasons. After head coach Mike MacIntyre resigned following the 2012 regular season, San Jose State hired Caragher to be head coach effective in the 2013 season.

Early life
Born in Redwood City, California and raised in Morgan Hill, Caragher graduated from Bellarmine College Prep of San Jose in 1985 and lettered in three sports there.

College playing career
Caragher received an athletic scholarship to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1985. At UCLA, Caragher redshirted his freshman year then was backup quarterback from 1986 to 1989, including two seasons behind Troy Aikman. Caragher was part of the UCLA teams that won the 1986 Freedom Bowl, 1987 Aloha Bowl, and 1989 Cotton Bowl Classic.

In UCLA's 52-17 win on November 7, 1987 over Oregon State, Caragher was one of three backup quarterbacks who substituted for Aikman during garbage time. As a junior in 1988, Caragher completed 4 of 7 passes for 19 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions. With UCLA leading Arizona 24-0 late in the fourth quarter on October 22, Caragher came in to replace Aikman but threw an interception that led to an Arizona field goal; UCLA would ultimately win 24-3. In the 1989 Cotton Bowl, senior Caragher took over on one handoff play after Aikman lost a contact lens. In 1990, Caragher graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology. In 1995, Caragher earned his master's degree in educational administration from UCLA.

UCLA (1994–2002)
Caragher became a pension administrator after finishing his bachelor's degree. While studying for his master's degree in 1994, Caragher became a graduate assistant with UCLA football. In 1996, Caragher became coach for wide receivers, punters, and kickers, a position he would hold until 2002. Caragher coached UCLA for five bowl games, and UCLA had a record 20-game winning streak from 1997 to 1998. With Pac-10 titles in 1997 and 1998, UCLA also won the 1998 Cotton Bowl Classic (following the 1997 season) and 2002 Las Vegas Bowl.

Kentucky (2003–2006)
From 2003 to 2006, Caragher was running backs coach at Kentucky and was recruiting coordinator from 2005 to 2006. Kentucky's 9-3 2006 season was the school's best record since 1984, and Kentucky's 2006 Music City Bowl victory was its first bowl game since 1999 and first bowl win since 1984.

San Diego (2007–2012)
Succeeding Jim Harbaugh, Caragher became head coach at Football Championship Subdivision school San Diego in 2007. Under Caragher, San Diego won three Pioneer Football League (PFL) titles: in 2007, 2011, and 2012. The PFL awarded Caragher as Coach of the Year following a 9-2 season in 2011, the third season with such a record under Caragher. Josh Johnson, a quarterback selected in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft, played at San Diego under Caragher.

San Jose State (2013–present)
Signing a five-year contract, Caragher accepted the head coach position at San Jose State on December 17, 2012, a week after previous head coach Mike MacIntyre resigned to become head coach at Colorado. Caragher coached his first game in the 2013 season, as Kent Baer served as interim head coach for the 2012 Military Bowl on December 27. In spring practice, Caragher has changed the defensive line alignment from a 4–3 to a 3–4 defense and has put quarterback David Fales under center rather than pistol offense.