John Van Dam (born August 18, 1984) is an American football coach and former player who is a pass game assistant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans and has previously coached the Augustana (South Dakota) Vikings, Alabama Crimson Tide, Michigan Wolverines, Florida Gators, Southern Illinois Salukis and Lafayette Leopards.
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Pass game assistant |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | August 18, 1984 |
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight: | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Okemos (MI) |
| College: | Michigan State (2003–2007) |
| Undrafted: | 2008 |
| Career history | |
| As a coach: | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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Early life
editVan Dam was born on August 18, 1984, and grew up in East Lansing, Michigan.[1] He attended Okemos High School where he was a member of the football, lacrosse and track and field teams.[1] He played quarterback and outside linebacker in football and had 179 passing yards and 11 tackles as a senior.[1]
Van Dam was a walk-on quarterback with the Michigan State Spartans, where his father had been an assistant coach.[2] He played five seasons for Michigan State and backed-up several future National Football League (NFL) players, including Nick Foles, Drew Stanton, Brian Hoyer and Kirk Cousins.[1][3] He appeared in one game each in his freshman, sophomore and junior years for the Spartans.[1]
Coaching career
editVan Dam began his coaching career with the Augustana Vikings (South Dakota) in 2008, serving for two seasons as a graduate assistant and tight ends coach before moving to wide receivers coach in 2010, a position he remained in through 2011.[4] He helped Augustana reach consecutive Mineral Water Bowls in 2008 and 2009 and they made their first playoff appearance in over 20 years in 2010.[3]
After his stint at Augustana, Van Dam served two years as a graduate assistant for the Alabama Crimson Tide and helped them win a national championship.[3] He followed Doug Nussmeier to the Michigan Wolverines in 2014, being named an offensive quality control assistant.[5][6] The following year, Van Dam served as assistant quarterbacks coach and offensive quality control assistant for the Florida Gators.[7] He became offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Southern Illinois Salukis in 2016, helping them have a top offense in the conference in his two years there.[3][8] He then was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Lafayette Leopards for one season in 2018.[3][9]
In 2019, Van Dam moved to the professional ranks and was hired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an offensive quality control coach.[3] He helped them win Super Bowl LV in 2020 and received a promotion to assistant tight ends coach in 2021.[3][10] He was promoted to head tight ends coach in 2022.[11] He was among the candidates the team interviewed for their offensive coordinator position in 2024.[12]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "John Dam". Michigan State Spartans.
- ^ Snyder, Mark (January 22, 2014). "Top-ranked RB Harris decommits from 2015 class". Detroit Free Press. p. B2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g Zimmer, Matt (February 5, 2021). "From Augustana to the Super Bowl: John Van Dam climbed the ladder to the big game". Argus Leader.
- ^ "John Van Dam". Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
- ^ Baumgardner, Nick (January 21, 2014). "Report: Ex-Alabama GA, Michigan State walk-on QB John Van Dam to be a Michigan quality control coach". MLive.com.
- ^ Gribble, Andrew (January 21, 2014). "Alabama graduate assistant follows Doug Nussmeier to Michigan". AL.com.
- ^ Harrison, David (January 31, 2024). "Tampa Bay Buccaneers Interviewing Internal Candidate to Replace Dave Canales". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ Meske, Brent (January 15, 2016). "Hill announces John Van Dam as offensive coordinator". The Daily Egyptian.
- ^ Reinhard, Paul (March 29, 2018). "Lafayette College football team looking to stem the tide of losses". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
- ^ Beede, Jason (May 28, 2021). "Tampa Bay Buccaneers Announce Various Promotions Ahead of 2021 NFL Season". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
- ^ Stroud, Rick (March 1, 2022). "Bucs make some changes to their coaching staff". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
- ^ Alper, Josh (January 31, 2024). "Report: Bucs to interview TE coach John Van Dam for promotion to offensive coordinator". ProFootballTalk. NBC Sports. Retrieved July 2, 2024.