Eric McDaniel has been appointed as the new defensive line coach for Tulane University’s football team, head coach Will Hall announced on Monday.
McDaniel arrives at Tulane after serving as assistant defensive line coach at Florida, where he worked under former Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall. Sumrall had joined the Gators from Tulane earlier in December.
Before his stint at Florida, McDaniel returned to Appalachian State as defensive line coach for the 2024 season. He previously held quality control positions at Appalachian State in 2016 and 2017. His coaching career also includes roles at Louisville (defensive quality control, 2019-2020), Army (defensive line coach, 2021), and Troy (defensive line coach, 2022-2023). While at Troy, McDaniel worked with both Sumrall and current Tulane defensive coordinator Tayler Polk. During this period, Troy’s defense achieved notable success, including back-to-back Sun Belt championships in 2022 and 2023.
“We are very excited for our players to bring Eric McDaniel to our program,” Hall said. “We have several staff members who have worked with Eric in his past. Every one of them vouched for his character and how much he cares for his players. They absolutely rave about him as a fundamental developer of defensive line, as well. Roll Wave!!!”
In recognition of his work at Troy in 2023, McDaniel was named one of five finalists for FootballScoop’s National Defensive Line Coach of the Year award.
Under McDaniel’s leadership in 2023, Troy’s defensive front set a Sun Belt record with 47 sacks and ranked second nationally. Defensive end Javon Solomon earned All-America honors with a national-best 16 sacks among FBS players, while T.J. Jackson received second-team All-Sun Belt recognition.
Troy’s defense finished the season ranked among the top ten nationally in points allowed, sacks, and tackles for loss per game. The team posted an 11-3 record and secured a victory over Appalachian State in the Sun Belt Championship Game.
In the previous year, two Troy linemen—Jackson and Will Choloh—were named first-team All-Sun Belt performers. The team finished with a 12-2 record, won the Cure Bowl, closed out an eleven-game winning streak, and appeared in major national polls for the first time: No. 19 in the AP Top 25 and No. 20 in the USA Today/Coaches Poll.
“I’m excited to join this staff and be a part of this team,” said McDaniel. “I’m looking forward to keeping the Wave rolling and representing a physical and attacking front, adding to the championship culture that has been built here!”
While coaching at Army during the 2021 season, McDaniel helped lead the team to a nine-win campaign capped by an Armed Forces Bowl victory over Missouri. That year’s defense ranked seventeenth nationally by allowing just over 328 yards per game and set a school record with thirty sacks. Army’s defense also limited opponents’ possession time to an average of just over twenty-four minutes per game—the lowest mark nationally.
At Louisville, McDaniel contributed to improving the team’s defense by more than ten points per game compared to previous seasons and helped double its sack total from 2018 levels.
During his initial tenure at Appalachian State as quality control coach (2016-2017), the Mountaineers’ defense ranked ninth nationally in scoring defense (17.8 points per game) with seven games holding opponents under ten points; they also led all teams nationally in fewest big plays allowed and were seventeenth in sacks (38).
McDaniel began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Muskingum University during the NCAA Division III seasons of 2014 and 2015.
He holds a degree in health and kinesiology from Purdue University (class of 2014), where he played fifteen games for their football program between 2009-2013. He later earned a master’s degree in education from Muskingum University in 2016.
