Brian Stewart (American football)


Brian Stewart is an American football coach. He is the defensive backs coach of Baylor University. Stewart was defensive coordinator at Rice University for the 2017 season. He was hired in the spring after the 2016 season. He was formerly the defensive coordinator at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Early years

Stewart attended Nogales High School. He accepted a football scholarship from Northern Arizona University. He transferred to Santa Monica City College after his freshman season, when he was ruled academically ineligible. He played both at cornerback and free safety.
He transferred for his junior season back to Northern Arizona University. He played cornerback for the 1986 and 1987 teams.

Coaching career

Stewart began his collegiate career as an offensive assistant at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, working with the wide receivers in 1993 and the running backs in 1994, when the school won the American West Conference title.
In 1995, he coached tighends and special teams at Northern Arizona University. In 1996, he was a defensive graduate assistant at the University of Missouri. From 1997 to 1998, he was the secondary coach at San Jose State University.
From 1999 to 2000, he was the secondary coach at the University of Missouri. In 2001, he was the defensive backs coach at Syracuse University under head coach Paul Pasqualoni, contributing to a 10-3 record and the No. 14 ranking in final Associated Press poll.
In 2002, he began his NFL career as the assistant defensive backs coach with the expansion Houston Texans. In 2004, he was hired as the secondary coach with the San Diego Chargers under defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.
In 2007, when Phillips became the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, he named Stewart as the defensive coordinator. In 2009, he was hired as the defensive special assistant with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Stewart held the position of defensive coordinator on the Houston Cougars football team from 2010 to 2011 at the University of Houston.
In 2012, Stewart's Maryland defense was second-ranked in yards per game in the Atlantic Coast Conference and the 21st in the nation.
He was the defensive backs coach at the University of Nebraska from 2015 to 2016. In 2017, he was the defensive coordinator and interim head coach at Rice University.
On February 7, 2018, Stewart was named defensive backs coach of the Detroit Lions. In 2020, he was hired as the cornerbacks coach at Baylor University.

Personal life

Stewart's family includes wife Kimberly and their children Leila, Mya, and Zara.