Tennessee State football defensive coordinator and backfield coaches named

Photo: Tennessee State University head football coach James Webster.

Tennessee State Sports Information

Tennessee State University head football coach James Webster has elevated Rod Reed to defensive coordinator, adds Lee Calland and John Parker to the Tigers’ defensive coaching staff for the 2008 season.

Rod Reed, a TSU graduate and former All-American, presently serves as linebackers coach, will begin his sixth season on the Tigers’ staff. Reed returns to the defensive coordinator’s position he held in his first year at TSU. During that stint the Tigers led the Ohio Valley Conference in total defense for the first time in school history.

A keen recruiter, Reed is responsible for bringing several key players into the TSU program. Reed counts Javarris Williams, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Shaun Richardson among his recruits. He has also coached All-American and professional player Jamie Landrom (Jacksonville Jaguars).

Lee Calland joins the Tigers’ staff as a defensive backs (safeties) coach. Calland a former NFL defensive back with the Minnesota Vikings’ “Purple People Eaters” and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ “Steel Curtain” defenses. He has served stints on the coaching staffs of the London Monarchs (WFL), Southern University, Fort Valley State (GA) and Morris Brown College.

John Parker will coach the corner backs at TSU. Parker is the former head coach and defensive coordinator at Cumberland (TN) University and Cheney (PA) University; he has served stints on the staffs with the River City Rage (AFLII), East Tennessee State and Minnesota-Morris.