Russell Dean Pees (born September 4, 1949) is an American football coach who is currently a senior advisor for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He has served as the defensive coordinator for the Ravens, New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans, and Atlanta Falcons. Pees was also the head coach at Kent State University from 1998 to 2003, compiling a record of 17–51.
 Pees with the Falcons in 2021 | |
| Baltimore Ravens | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Senior advisor |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | September 4, 1949 Dunkirk, Ohio, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| College: | Bowling Green |
| Career history | |
| As a coach: | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Head coaching record | |
| Regular season: | NCAA: 17–51 (.250) |
| Record at Pro Football Reference | |
Coaching career
editCollege football
editPees began his coaching career at Elmwood High School (Bloomdale, Ohio) after being the defensive coordinator for two years he got the head coaching position. A few years later, he was hired to start his college coaching career in 1979 at the University of Findlay as their defensive coordinator and secondary coach following six years as a high school coach. In 1983, Pees moved to Miami University, where he was also the defensive coordinator and secondary coach of the team. From 1987 to 1989, Pees served as the secondary coach at the United States Naval Academy. Pees then took the defensive coordinator job, under Nick Saban, at the University of Toledo, which he held for four seasons with the team. Pees spent the 1994 season under head coach Lou Holtz as the secondary coach for the University of Notre Dame. From 1995 to 1997, Pees worked as the defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach again under Saban at Michigan State University. In 1998, he earned his first head coaching job at Kent State University. Pees left the program after the 2003 season with a six-year record of 17–51.
NFL
editNew England Patriots
edit
Prior to the 2004 NFL season, Pees left Kent State for the Patriots, spending two years as the Patriots' linebackers coach under head coach Bill Belichick, another Saban associate. Pees had coached alongside Bill's father, Steve Belichick, at Navy in the late 1980s.
After the 2005 season, Pees was promoted to defensive coordinator, replacing Eric Mangini, who became the head coach of the New York Jets. With his contract set to expire following the 2009 season, Pees chose not to return to the Patriots on January 14, 2010.
Baltimore Ravens
editOn January 26, 2010, Pees was hired as the linebackers coach for the Baltimore Ravens. On January 27, 2012, Pees was promoted to defensive coordinator by head coach John Harbaugh. Pees was on the coaching staff that won Super Bowl XLVII.[1] Pees announced his retirement on January 1, 2018.[2]
Tennessee Titans
edit
On January 29, 2018, Pees was hired as the defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans under head coach Mike Vrabel.[3][4]
On January 20, 2020, Pees announced his retirement from football for the second time.[5]
Atlanta Falcons
editOn January 21, 2021, Pees was hired by the Atlanta Falcons as their defensive coordinator under head coach Arthur Smith.[6]
On January 9, 2023, Pees announced his retirement from football for the third time.[7]
Baltimore Ravens (second stint)
editOn October 9, 2024, the Baltimore Ravens hired Pees as a senior advisor to defensive coordinator Zach Orr.[8]
Head coaching record
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kent State Golden Flashes (Mid-American Conference) (1998–2003) | |||||||||
| 1998 | Kent State | 0–11 | 0–8 | 6th (East) | |||||
| 1999 | Kent State | 2–9 | 2–6 | 6th (East) | |||||
| 2000 | Kent State | 1–10 | 1–7 | 7th (East) | |||||
| 2001 | Kent State | 6–5 | 5–3 | T–4th (East) | |||||
| 2002 | Kent State | 3–9 | 1–7 | 6th (East) | |||||
| 2003 | Kent State | 5–7 | 4–4 | 4th (East) | |||||
| Kent State: | 17–51 | 13–35 | |||||||
| Total: | 17–51 | ||||||||
Personal life
editPees' son, Matt, is a defensive analyst for the Chicago Bears. They previously worked together on the Titans and Falcons, where Matt was a quality control coach and defensive assistant, respectively, under his father.[9]
References
edit- ^ "Super Bowl XLVII - San Francisco 49ers vs. Baltimore Ravens - February 3rd, 2013". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
- ^ "Dean Pees will officially retire as Ravens defensive coordinator today". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
- ^ Wolf, Jason (January 29, 2018). "Titans to hire Dean Pees as defensive coordinator". tennessean.com. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
- ^ "Titans Name Dean Pees DC, Matt LaFleur OC". TitansOnline.com.
- ^ Wyatt, Jim (January 20, 2020). "Titans DC Dean Pees Announces His Retirement". TitansOnline.com. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
- ^ Tabeek, Matthew; McFadden, Will (January 21, 2021). "Arthur Smith hires coaches, identifies coordinators". www.atlantafalcons.com. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
- ^ Urben, Matt (January 9, 2023). "Falcons DC Dean Pees informs players that he's retiring". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
- ^ "Ravens bringing back former defensive coordinator Dean Pees in advisory role". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
- ^ Mayer, Larry (February 26, 2024). "Bears add Matt Pees as defensive analyst". Chicago Bears. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
External links
edit
Media related to Dean Pees at Wikimedia Commons- Kent State Golden Flashes bio
