Kurt Taufa'asau (born September 18, 1990) is an American college football coach. He is the head football coach for New Mexico Highlands University, a position he has held since 2024.[1][2][3] He was the head football coach for New Mexico Military Institute from 2021 to 2023. In 2021, he led New Mexico Military to a NJCAA National Football Championship win.[4][5][6][7] He also coached for Westlake High School.[8]
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | New Mexico Highlands |
| Conference | RMAC |
| Record | 2–8 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | September 18, 1990 Pago Pago, American Samoa |
| Alma mater | University of Wyoming (2012) |
| Playing career | |
| 2009 | New Mexico Military |
| 2010–2012 | Wyoming |
| 2013 | Oakland Raiders* |
| 2013 | Tennessee Titans* |
| 2014 | Indianapolis Colts* |
| Position(s) | Defensive tackle |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2015 | Westlake HS (UT) (DL) |
| 2016–2018 | New Mexico Military (DL) |
| 2019–2020 | New Mexico Military (AHC/DL) |
| 2021–2023 | New Mexico Military |
| 2024–present | New Mexico Highlands |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 2–8 (college) 27–10 (junior college) |
| Bowls | 1–1 (junior college) |
| Tournaments | 2–0 (NJCAA D-I playoffs) 2–0 (SWJCFC playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1 NJCAA Division I (2021) 1 SWJCFC (2021) | |
| Awards | |
| First Team All-WSFL (2009) | |
Taufa'asau played college football for New Mexico Military and Wyoming as a defensive tackle.[9] After going undrafted in the 2013 NFL draft he signed with the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL).[10] He also had stints with the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts.[3][6]
Head coaching record
editCollege
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Mexico Highlands Cowboys (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) (2024–present) | |||||||||
| 2024 | New Mexico Highlands | 2–8 | 2–6 | ||||||
| New Mexico Highlands: | 2–8 | 2–6 | |||||||
| Total: | 2–8 | ||||||||
Junior college
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | D1# | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Mexico Military Broncos (Southwest Junior College Football Conference) (2021–2023) | |||||||||
| 2021 | New Mexico Military | 12–1 | 6–1 | 1st | W NJCAA Division I Championship | 1 | |||
| 2022 | New Mexico Military | 9–3 | 5–2 | T–2nd | W HF Sinclair Wool | 7 | |||
| 2023 | New Mexico Military | 6–6 | 4–3 | T–4th | L Xcel Energy Wool | ||||
| New Mexico Military: | 27–10 | 15–7 | |||||||
| Total: | 27–10 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References
edit- ^ "New Mexico Highlands hires NMMI's Taufa'asau as head football coach". Albuquerque Journal. May 29, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
- ^ Webber, Will (May 29, 2024). "Highlands names NMMI coach to football post". Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
- ^ a b "Kurt Taufa'asau Named NMHU Head Football Coach". New Mexico Highlands University Athletics. May 29, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
- ^ "New Mexico Military Institute's Kurt Taufa'asau Selected as 2021 ACCFCA Coach of the Year - AFCA". www.afca.com. December 22, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
- ^ "Taufa'asau garners DI Coach of the Year honors". NJCAA. December 22, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
- ^ a b "Kurt Taufa'asau named ACCFCA Coach of the Year, Broncos tab postseason honors". New Mexico Military Institute. December 22, 2021. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
- ^ Beltran, Blynn (January 15, 2022). "Taufa'asau leads Broncos to first National Championship". Roswell Daily Record. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
- ^ "New Mexico Military Institute". New Mexico Military Institute. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
- ^ "Kurt Taufa'asau - Football". University of Wyoming Athletics. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
- ^ Damien, Levi (May 6, 2013). "Raiders UDFA profile: Kurt Taufa'asau". Silver And Black Pride. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
External links
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