David Saunders returned to the Ole Miss football staff in April 2010 as Administrative Operations Coordinator. Saunders is in his third stint at Ole Miss and most recently served as the Rebels' linebackers coach in 2006. That post came after a three-year term (2003-05) as head football coach of the Millsaps College Majors. Prior to being named head coach at Millsaps, Saunders had spent four years at Ole Miss, including the first two as Assistant to the Athletics Director for Recruiting and the final two as Coordinator of High School and Community College Relations. During his first employment at Ole Miss, which began in December of 1998, Saunders established an acclaimed recruiting program and was lauded as one of the top nine recruiters in the nation by Tom Lemming of ESPN.com. Saunders first joined the Ole Miss athletics staff after working at the University of Tennessee, where he was responsible for on-campus recruiting. Prior to accepting the Tennessee position, Saunders served two years as assistant football coach and recruiting coordinator at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro (1996-97). He spent the 1995 season coaching safeties and special teams at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. During the 1993 and 1994 seasons, Saunders was the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Nicholls State University in Thibodeaux, La. It was at Nicholls State that Saunders coached with Orgeron, who was the Colonels linebackers coach in 1994. While at Nicholls State, Saunders coached defensive back Darryl Pounds, who played for the Washington Redskins of the NFL. From 1990 to 1992, Saunders coached the defensive line at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, and helped lead the Eagles to the 1990 Division I-AA national championship. From 1984 to 1989, Saunders coached defensive backs and receivers while serving as recruiting coordinator at Jacksonville (Ala.) State University. While at Jacksonville State, Saunders coached defensive back Eric Davis, who earned All-Pro honors in the NFL and played for the 1995 Super Bowl Champion San Francisco 49ers. Saunders also coached receiver Keith McKeller, who played in three Super Bowls with the Buffalo Bills, and defensive back Darrel Malone, who played with the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins. Before entering the collegiate coaching ranks, Saunders was an assistant football coach at Andalusia High School in Alabama from 1982 to 1983. Saunders, a native of Douglasville, Ga., graduated from Auburn University in 1982 with a bachelor of science degree and was a walk-on lineman for the Tigers. While at Auburn, Saunders also assisted with the junior varsity, working with the offensive and defensive lines. Saunders is married to the former Jan Perry of Andalusia, Ala. The couple has two children, Riley and Kaylee. |
|
|||||||
