New Idaho football coach Paul Petrino began adding to his staff on Monday, announcing the hiring of former Washington State Cougar Ronnie Lee and former Vandal Mike Anderson.
Lee will serve as the Vandals' defensive coordinator. Anderson will be the linebackers coach.
Lee, who played football at WSU, was most recently the running backs coach and special teams coordinator at Indiana State. He was the co-defensive coordinator at Minnesota in 2009-10. Before that, he had coaching jobs at Michigan, San Jose State, Colorado State , Idaho (1992) and Portland State. He was a graduate assistant for the 1989 Miami Hurricanes team that won the national championship.
"Ronnie was the first guy I called; the first guy I asked to be defensive coordinator," said Petrino of Lee in a statement Monday. "For me, I hit the jackpot and got the guy I wanted. It's great."
Anderson comes to Moscow by way of Washington where he has a strength and conditioning coach and defensive assistant. He played linebacker for the Vandals from 2002-05 and has worked as a graduate assistant for the Vandals in the past.
Read the news releases from the University of Idaho:
On the hiring of Ronnie Lee:
Ronnie Lee is
returning to the Palouse where he played football for and graduated from
Washington State University before spending 1992 coaching the secondary at the
University of Idaho. His coaching career since he left the Palouse has taken him
across the country – and now back.
"He's had all kinds of
experience," said head coach Paul Petrino, who roomed with Lee when both were
assistants at Idaho in 1992. "He's definitely a great teacher. He's a motivator.
He's a disciplinarian. Any time you can get disciplinarians at your coordinator
positions, that's good because they're speaking the same language I
am."
It didn't take long
for Petrino to make the call to Lee.
"Ronnie was the first
guy I called; the first guy I asked to be defensive coordinator," said Petrino
of Lee, who was co-defensive coordinator at Minnesota in 2009-10. "For me, I hit
the jackpot and got the guy I wanted. It's great."
Most recently, Lee was
at Indiana State University as the Running Backs Coach and Special Teams
Coordinator in 2012. The Sycamore finished the season 7-4 behind a ground game
led by running back Shakir Bell, who averaged 134.1 yards per game and 5.5 yards
per carry.
At Idaho, though, he
will return to the defensive side of the ball – where he played as a Cougar and
spent the majority of his coaching career, as the Vandals' defensive coordinator
and secondary coach.
Prior to Indiana
State, Lee was at Minnesota from 2007-10 as the Golden Golpher's co-defensive
coordinator in 2009-10 after being promoted following the 2008 season. While at
Minnesota he coached cornerback Traye Simmons to Honorable Mention All-Big Ten
honors in 2009, which marked back-to-back conference honors for Simmons. Under
Lee's tutelage, Simmons finished No. 1 in the Big Ten and No. 5 in the nation in
passes defended (1.38 per game) in 2008. Cornerback Marcus Sherels was No. 3 in
the Big Ten and No. 25 in the nation (1.08 per game) as well. Simmons earned
second-team All-Big Ten honors in 2008, while safety Kyle Theret was an
honorable mention selection.
Minnesota finished No.
11 in the nation with 31 turnovers gained in 2008. Gopher defensive backs
accounted for 15 of those 31 turnovers either by interception or fumble
recovery. Under Lee's coaching, Minnesota safety Dom Barber earned second-team
All-Big Ten honors from both the coaches and the media in 2007. Barber ranked
ninth in the Big Ten in total tackles (100) that season and was a sixth-round
choice of the Houston Texans in the 2008 NFL Draft.
Prior to his time at
Minnesota, Lee coached at Michigan, where he spent the 2006 campaign as the
secondary coach and also worked with the Wolverines' punt return team. Lee's
unit played a major role in Michigan finishing the season ranked 10th nationally
in overall defense and 15th in scoring defense. The Wolverines also ranked third
in the Big Ten in punt return average and 35th nationally. Under the tutelage of
Lee, Wolverine cornerback Leon Hall was selected first-team All-Big Ten by both
the coaches and the media in 2006. Hall was one of only two players chosen
unanimously by both the coaches and media.
Prior to working with
the Wolverines, Lee was the defensive backs coach at Wisconsin from 2003-05. As
defensive backs coach for the Badgers, Lee coached safety Jim Leonhard to
first-team All-Big Ten and All-America honors in 2003 and 2004. Leonhard tied
Jamar Fletcher for the most career interceptions at Wisconsin with 21. Lee
helped the Badgers to three consecutive bowl games, the 2003 Music City Bowl,
2005 Outback Bowl and 2006 Capital One Bowl.
Prior to his
appointment with the Badgers, Lee was the defensive coordinator and defensive
backs coach at San Jose State from 2001-02. In 2002, the Spartans ranked third
nationally in interceptions (23) and fourth in turnovers gained (38). Lee was
also the only coach who had three players ranked among the top 100 nationally in
interceptions in 2002.
Before joining the San
Jose State staff, Lee spent eight seasons at Colorado State (1993-2000) working
with the defensive backs. Lee helped coach the Rams to five conference titles
during that stretch and aided in the Rams leading the nation in turnover margin
during the 1997 season. He also coached Greg Myers, the winner of the 1995 Jim
Thorpe Award as the nation's best defensive back.
Lee spent a year each
at Idaho (1992) as defensive backs coach and Portland State (1991) as defensive
backs/special teams coach, helping both schools to conference championships. He
was a graduate assistant coach at Miami (Fla.) from 1989-90 and was a member of
the Hurricanes' 1989 national championship staff.
Twelve of Lee's
players have played in the NFL, including Wisconsin's Scott Starks, who was a
third-round draft pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2005. Lee has been
involved in 12 bowl games during his career, one as a player at Washington State
(1988 Aloha Bowl) and 11 as an assistant coach.
A native of Tulare,
Calif., Lee earned his bachelor's degree from Washington State in 1989. He was a
four-year letterman at defensive back (1985-88) for the Cougars and led the
Pac-10 Conference in fumbles forced in 1986.
Lee and his wife,
Eileen, have five children: Aubree, Jamison, Kayla, Christopher and
Madison.
###########
On hiring Mike Mike Anderson:
Mike
Anderson returns to Moscow and the University of Idaho as the Vandals'
linebackers coach after having played linebacker and defensive end for the
Vandals from 2002-05. Most recently, Anderson has been on the staff at the
University of Washington but he also served as a graduate assistant at Idaho in
2008.
"He's
a Vandal. He was a great player here," head coach Paul Petrino said in
announcing Anderson's joining his staff at Idaho. "He has a lot of pride. He
wants to see this program where it needs to be."
Petrino
knows some of Anderson's coaching mentors and they endorsed their former
student.
"I
like his passion," Petrino said. "He'll be a great teacher. That's the biggest
thing I was looking for – guys who will be great teachers and motivators. And he
has a lot of connections in the Northwest."
After
graduating from Idaho in the spring of 2006, Anderson first was a student
assistant at Washington State University then was a graduate assistant in 2007
before returning to Moscow.
He
headed west to Seattle and the University of Washington in 2009. Among his
duties as an assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach for Football and Football
Defensive Assistant for the Huskies in 2011 and 2012 were: assisting in all
aspects of the football strength and conditioning program; creating and
producing position specific training, and assisting with weekly game plan
preparation, charting game day tendencies, protections, and assisting in
defensive run game adjustments.
From
2009-10, he was the Huskies' Defensive Graduate Assistant and Assistant
Linebackers Coach. He recruited Colorado and National Recruiter as well as
coaching the offensive and special teams scout teams; video breakdown and
computer entry for opponents and self-scout; assisted with scouting reports and
game plan preparation, and charted game day tendencies, protections, and
assisted in defensive run game adjustments.
While
at Idaho in 2008, he was a Defensive Graduate Assistant and Assistant Defensive
Line Coach. He coached the offensive and special teams scout teams, video
breakdown and computer entry for opponents and self-scout; assisted with
scouting reports and game plan preparation, and charted game day tendencies,
protections, and assisted in defensive run game adjustments. He recruited
Utah.
In
2007, he was a Defensive Graduate Assistant and Assistant Linebackers Coach at
Washington State University. He was Cougars' placekicking coach in the spring
then focused on the defense in the fall when he coached the offensive and
special teams scout teams, video breakdown and computer entry for opponents and
self-scout; assisted with scouting reports and game plan preparation, and
charted game day tendencies, protections, and assisted in defensive run game
adjustments. He recruited the Eastern Seaboard and assisted with recruiting in
Texas.
His
first year with the Cougars was 2006 when he was Defensive Quality
Control/Linebackers. Among his duties were video breakdown and computer entry
for opponents and self-scout, and assisting with scouting reports and game plan
preparation, and charting game day tendencies, protections, and assisted in
defensive run game adjustments
His
playing career at Idaho began during his redshirt freshman season when he had 51
total tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss. His best season was 2003 when he led the
Vandals in total tackles with 97 and added another four tackles for loss to his
total. He wrapped up his Idaho career with 247 total tackles (140 solo and 107
assists), 12.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, four interceptions (one of which
was returned 71 yards to score against Utah State during his senior season),
five pass breakups, six quarterback hurries, five forced fumbles, six fumble
recoveries and two blocked kicks.
Anderson
earned his bachelor's degree in Marketing and Finance from Idaho in 2006 and
completed his master's degree in Organizational Leadership at Idaho in
2009.
He
is a graduate of Lewiston (Idaho) High School where he played football and
basketball, and was a sprinter on the track team.
Anderson
is married to his wife, Alyson.
© Paul Petrino announced the hiring of two assistants on Monday - both on the defensive side of the ball (Photo: SWX)
