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Football
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- Title:
- Head Football Coach
- Email:
- lufootball@liberty.edu
- Start Date:
- 12/02/2005
The Quest Continues for the Flames in 2011, which will once again be under the leadership of head football coach Danny Rocco.
Since taking over the program, Rocco has fulfilled his directive of winning conference titles, as he has done so with four-straight Big South Conference titles.
Additionally, Liberty has continued to become a program of national prominence. The Flames have finished the last three years ranked inside the Top 25, including a pair of seasons with rankings inside the Top 20.
During his five years on Liberty Mountain, Rocco has coached 82 Big South all-conference members and 19 players who have garnered All-America distinctions, including a pair of consensus All-Americans (Associated Press, College Sporting News, Sports Network and Walter Camp Foundation) in running back Rashad Jennings (2008) and kicker Matt Bevins (2009 and 2010).
Four of his student-athletes have gone on to play at the highest level of professional football in the NFL. Vince Redd (New England Patriots) and Stephen Sene (St. Louis Rams) signed free agent contracts following the 2007 season, while Trey Jacobs (Washington Redskins) did the same in 2010. Jennings became Liberty’s first NFL Draft selection in 20 years, when he was taken by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the seventh round in the 2009 NFL Draft.
In just five seasons at the helm of Liberty’s football program, Rocco has accomplished more than some of his peers tally on their coaching record over decades of service.
In addition to winning four-straight conference titles, Rocco has been a three-time Big South Coach of the Year (2006, 2007 and 2008) and three-time finalist for the national Eddie Robinson Award and Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year honors (2008, 2009 and 2010).
During the last four years, Rocco has tallied the third-best winning percentage of all FCS coaches in the country, having posted a 34-11 record (75.56). Additionally, Rocco’s overall winning percentage (71.42/40-16) ranks No. 5 among FCS coaches during the last 10 years of competition.
Liberty has accomplished these lofty numbers by winning on both sides of the line of scrimmage. During the last four years, Liberty ranked No. 1 in the country among FCS programs by averaging 37.28 points per game, while ranking No. 7 by allowing 19.17 points per game during the same four-year span.
The Flames have won at such an impressive clip during the past half-decade due to Liberty valuing possession of the football. Since Rocco’s arrival on Liberty Mountain in 2006, Liberty has posted the No. 1 turnover margin in FCS football during the past five seasons (+0.88).
Rocco took over a program that was 1-10 when he was announced as the program’s seventh head coach on Dec. 2, 2005. In just a half of a decade, Rocco has not only changed the perception of his players, but also that of the University’s student body and administration, the community of Central Virginia and the national FCS scene.
During his first year, Rocco posted a five-win improvement over the previous season (1-10 in 2005 and 6-5 in 2006), earning him Big South Coach of the Year honors, the first in program history. Nationally, the turnabout tied for the best FCS improvement in the country during the season.
Rocco brought to Liberty the 3-4 defensive scheme, which he successfully ran at both Virginia and with the New York Jets, and the new strategic plan paid immediate dividends. Liberty held opponents to 1,433 total rushing yards and 306.6 average yards of offense per game, setting then a pair of school and conference bests.
Liberty posted three shutouts in 2006 to set a new school and Big South record. The Flames allowed just 172 total points to claim a new school mark and ranked No. 12 nationally in scoring defense (15.64 points per game).
On the gridiron, Rocco’s rejuvenated squad set 12 different team records, including eight defensive marks, which certainly brought a smile to the face of the 20-plus-year, veteran defensive coach.
The revitalization of the program sparked a renewed interest in Flames football, as a ticket to a Rocco-coached football game became a hot item around Liberty Mountain. The Flames finished the year ranked 13th nationally in home attendance.
The attention to Rocco’s first-year accomplishments wasn’t just limited to the greater Lynchburg area. During the 2006 campaign, Liberty garnered votes for Top 25 consideration more than once and the Flames, posting their first victory over a nationally-ranked opponent since 1997, knocked off No. 24 Charleston Southern.
In sharp contrast, the 2007 season brought about an onslaught on Liberty’s offensive record book. During the course of the season, the Flames set new program and Big South benchmarks for points scored (469), points per game (42.6), average yards per play (6.8) and total touchdowns (61).
Liberty finished the year ranked No. 3 nationally in scoring offense, No. 8 in passing efficiency (158.12), No. 14 in total offense and No. 16 in rushing offense (215.91).
The lofty figures continued to propel the Flames to new levels, helping Liberty surpass the 40-point mark in five out of 11 total games.
The high-octane offense continued to pack out Liberty’s Williams Stadium. The Flames finished the 2007 season with a program-best and perfect 6-0 home record under Rocco, while averaging 14,190 fans per game in a venue that then held 12,000.
However, the pinnacle of the season came in a fashion only fitting for its author. Rocco’s seasoned-veteran squad capped off a memorable year by posting a 31-0 shutout over Gardner-Webb on Nov. 17, 2007. The victory gave Liberty its first-ever Big South title in football, completing a “Good2Great” season.
Not satisfied with just climbing to the top of the Big South’s standings, Rocco led a charge to put the name of Liberty Football on a national level in 2008.
The Flames won their first six games of the year, giving them the nation’s longest FCS winning streak midway through the year at 11 games dating back to the previous year, with half of those wins in 2008 carrying noteworthy accomplishments.
The first was a 31-28 road victory over No. 23 Youngstown State, a four-time FCS national champion. The resounding win continued to build the Flames’ ever-growing resume as a force to be reckoned with on the national scene during a season of “Unfinished Business.”
The second and third victories during the aforementioned winning stretch were a road victory over Coastal Carolina and a 33-0 shutout over league newcomer Stony Brook at home, which began another run toward a Big South title.
On Nov. 15, 2008, the Flames closed out their quest to repeat as Big South champions, downing Gardner-Webb yet again. This time Liberty won the game on its home turf, allowing Liberty to celebrate a perfect 5-0 league mark in front of its own fans at Williams Stadium.
The following week, Williams Stadium served as the stage for one of the more noteworthy wins in program history, as Liberty controlled No. 12 Elon from the opening kickoff to the final whistle, resulting in a 26-3 win on Nov. 22, 2008.
The victory over the Phoenix completed the first-ever 10-win season in program history and enabled the Flames to finish the year with their highest end-of-the-year national ranking at No. 14 in the Sports Network poll and No. 15 in the FCS Coaches ranking.
Individually, Rocco’s unprecedented success did not go unnoticed, as he claimed his third-straight Big South Coach of the Year award. But in keeping with the theme for the year of taking Liberty to the national level, Rocco himself was listed among the nation’s elite coaches at year’s end.
Rocco deservedly found his name listed among the nation’s elite FCS coaches, as he was on the ballot for consideration for the Eddie Robinson Award, given out annually by the Sports Network to the top FCS coach in the nation. Secondly, Rocco was a Top 5 finalist for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year award.
In 2009, Rocco saw his first graduating class post numbers that no previous senior class had come close to during the nearly four decades of Liberty football.
The Flames finished the year with an 8-3 record and a share of the Big South title with a 5-1 mark in conference play. Before dropping a heartbreaking road game to co-Big South champion Stony Brook during the season finale, Liberty’s only losses during the 2009 campaign were hard-fought setbacks to FBS powerhouse West Virginia (33-20) and a home loss to No. 6 James Madison (24-10).
The 8-3 record enabled Rocco’s first graduating class to finish their days on Liberty Mountain with a combined 32-13 record, which surpassed the best win total by any senior class by five wins at that point.
For the second year in a row, Liberty finished the year among the nation’s elite programs, as the Flames were ranked No. 21 in the FCS Coaches Poll and No. 22 in the Sports Network listing.
Rocco’s squad ended the 2009 campaign leading all FCS programs in scoring offense (36.36 points per game) and turnover margin (1.91). Liberty finished the year more than a half-point ahead of No. 2 Montana (35.80) in the race for the nation’s top scoring offense and three-tenths of a point ahead of No. 2 Southern (1.64) in turnover margin.
Rocco was recognized individually for his efforts at Liberty, as he found his name on the finalist list once again for the Eddie Robinson Award and Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year honors following the 2009 season.
The Flames shared the Big South title with Coastal Carolina and Stony Brook, making Liberty the first program in league history to claim the conference title four years in a row.
Although Rocco was brought to Liberty Mountain to win conference titles, one of the program’s most notable wins came during its 2010 non-conference schedule.
Following a throwback win over St. Francis, Pa., at Lynchburg’s historic City Stadium, the Flames continued the trend of FCS teams upending FBS programs. A sack on a fourth-and-two play allowed Liberty to secure a 27-23 victory over Ball State, giving the program its second win over a FBS team and the first since 1989.
Rocco’s 2010 graduating class bested the 2009 squad by two victories, posting a 34-11 record during their four years at Liberty, which currently marks the best four-year run in program history.
Liberty once again posted Top 10 finishes in 10 different NCAA team statistical categories, while two of Rocco’s student-athletes individually led the country. Quarterback Mike Brown finished No. 1 in the nation in total offensive yards per game (346.36), while Matt Bevins once again led the country in field goals (1.82 per game).
Rocco continued to be recognized for his efforts on a national scale, as he repeated as a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award and Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year honors listing for the third year in a row.
As previously mentioned, the Rocco era of football began on Dec. 2, 2005, when Dr. Jerry Falwell addressed an assembled group of media and boosters gathered in the Grand Lobby of the Arthur S. DeMoss Learning Center on the early winter day.
The announcement brought excitement back to a once-strong athletic program, as Dr. Falwell publicly named Rocco, the former Virginia associate head coach, as the leader of Liberty’s football program.
“Danny Rocco is a perfect fit for Liberty University in every way. Liberty is fortunate to have him,” stated the University’s Founder and former Chancellor on that cold wintry day, who personally witnessed the beginning of the program’s resurgence. “I firmly believe Danny Rocco can lead Liberty in reaching its goal of becoming a dominant Division I-AA program within the near future.”
Unfortunately, the world-renowned evangelist and duly honored No. 1 fan of Liberty athletics did not live to see his own prediction completely come true, as he passed away on May 15, 2007.
But Rocco has made it the program’s purpose to carry out the vision of the leader. He cherishes his legacy by truly being a “Champion for Christ,” continually guiding Liberty Football to its current place of prominence as one of the nation’s best and still rising FCS stars.
Rocco brought over 22 years of football coaching experience to a program he was quite familiar with, as he had been an outside observer with a vested interest for years. Rocco had family ties to both Liberty University and the greater Lynchburg area, enabling him to watch Liberty from a distance.
Rocco’s father and brother both served on the staff at Liberty during a six-year span as Frank Rocco, Sr., was the program’s Director of Football Operations during the 2000 and 2001 seasons. Frank Rocco, Jr., also joined the staff in 2000 as a wide receivers/quarterbacks coach and was promoted to offensive coordinator before leaving in 2003.
All three of the Rocco brothers have been reunited of sorts as Frank, Jr., now serves as head football coach and athletic director across the Liberty campus at Liberty Christian Academy, the K-12 school associated with Thomas Road Baptist Church.
Completing the family circle, the final Rocco brother, Dave, is now a defensive coordinator at Jefferson Forest High School in Forest, Va.
So, to say that Rocco has had a vested interest in Liberty and the greater Lynchburg area over the last several years might be an understatement.
“I’d followed the program for many years, and I’d waited for Liberty to have a breakthrough year,” commented Rocco after his introductory press conference. “For whatever reason, that hadn’t happened yet, but I knew the potential and the talent was here for it to happen.”
“I took this job knowing the program was coming off a disappointing 1-10 season,” continued the now-prophetic Rocco. “However, I never looked at it as a 1-10 program. That in and of itself allowed us to come in with a more positive approach and begin to turn this thing around.”
Rocco now enters the sixth year of his first head coaching position thrilled to bring 27 years of coaching career to Liberty with a resume which includes stops at several of the top NCAA FBS programs in the country.
In addition to his career at the NCAA FBS level, he spent the 2000 season on Al Groh’s staff as an assistant coach with the New York Jets of the National Football League.
Rocco has either coached or played in a total of 13 bowl games and has earned the title of conference champion on seven separate occasions – three times with the University of Texas and four with the Flames.
Prior to coming to Liberty, Rocco spent the previous five seasons at Virginia, helping the Cavaliers to four-consecutive bowl appearances and 37 victories alongside Groh as an assistant head coach/linebacker coach, starting in 2001.
Virginia posted back-to-back Continental Tire Bowl victories in 2002 and 2003 with wins over 15th-ranked West Virginia and Pittsburgh, and a heartbreaking overtime loss to Fresno State in the 2004 MPC Computers Bowl.
Rocco returned to Virginia prior to the 2005 Music City Bowl to help Groh lead the Cavaliers to a victory over Minnesota.
The Cavaliers’ 2002 recruiting class was ranked in the Top 10 nationally by many of the major recruiting services, including a fifth-place ranking by ESPN. Rocco relinquished his recruiting coordinating duties in 2002 and was promoted to the position of associate head coach, while continuing his responsibility as linebackers coach.
In 2004, three Cavaliers’ linebackers signed NFL contracts. Darryl Blackstock was selected in the third round of the NFL draft by the Arizona Cardinals, and Dennis Haley (N.Y. Jets) and Isaiah Ekejiuba (Arizona Cardinals) signed as free agents.
Rocco began his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at his alma mater, Wake Forest. He spent the 1984 and 1985 seasons as a graduate assistant, before being hired as the defensive line coach prior to the 1986 season.
Rocco was then hired by Bill McCartney at Colorado as an assistant linebackers coach for the 1987 season. He spent the next three seasons at Tulsa, where the Golden Hurricane competed in the 1989 Independence Bowl.
Rocco spent the 1991-93 seasons working for Tom Coughlin as his defensive line coach at Boston College, helping Coughlin bring Boston College’s program back to national prominence.
In 1992, Boston College played in the Hall of Fame Bowl, before making a trip to the Carquest Bowl in 1993. Rocco then left Boston College to join John Mackovic’s staff at the University of Texas at Austin.
While at Texas, the Longhorns put together three consecutive conference championships, including an inaugural Big 12 title in 1996. Texas also competed in three straight bowl games (Sun Bowl, Sugar Bowl and Fiesta Bowl).
Rocco went from Texas to Maryland, where he served as linebackers coach for the 1998 and 1999 seasons. After the 1999 season, Rocco rejoined his mentor, Groh, with the New York Jets.
Rocco spent the 2000 season in New York as an assistant linebacker/special teams coach, before following Groh to Virginia for the 2001-05 seasons.
Rocco began his college playing career as a scholarship athlete at Penn State. Rocco earned two varsity letters at Penn State, and participated in the 1979 Liberty Bowl and the 1980 Fiesta Bowl. He then transferred to Wake Forest where he was a two-year starter and senior captain for Groh.
While at Wake Forest, Rocco participated in the 1983 Mirage Bowl in Tokyo, Japan. In 1984, Rocco graduated from Wake Forest with a bachelor’s degree in speech communication. He completed a 48-hour education and counseling master’s curriculum from Wake Forest in 1987.
Rocco grew up in a football family, as his father served as an assistant coach at Penn State under legendary hall of fame head coach Joe Paterno before joining Liberty’s staff in 2000.
Rocco has been an active participant in the community since arriving in Lynchburg. He is a member of the Lynchburg Sports Club as well as the local chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He has been a member of the Virginia High School Coaches Association since the spring of 2001.
The native of Huntington, Pa., is married to the former Julie Mills and the couple has two children - David (20), a junior at Liberty, and Amy (18), an incoming freshman at Virginia.
Rocco’s Coaching Experience
2005-Present Liberty (head coach)
2003-05 Virginia (associate head coach/linebackers)
2001-02 Virginia (assistant head coach/linebackers/recruiting coordinator)
2000 New York Jets (assistant linebackers/special teams)
1998-99 Maryland (outside linebackers/assistant special teams)
1997 Texas (special teams coordinator/defensive ends)
1994-96 Texas (outside linebackers)
1991-93 Boston College (defensive line)
1988-90 Tulsa (outside linebackers)
1987 Colorado (assistant linebackers)
1986 Wake Forest (defensive line)
1984-85 Wake Forest (defensive graduate assistant)
Bowl Games as a Player
1983 Mirage Bowl (Wake Forest)
1980 Fiesta Bowl (Penn State)
1979 Liberty Bowl (Penn State)
Bowl Games as a Coach
2005 Music City Bowl (Virginia)
2004 MPC Computers Bowl (Virginia)
2003 Continental Tire Bowl (Virginia)
2002 Continental Tire Bowl (Virginia)
1996 Fiesta Bowl (Texas)
1995 Sugar Bowl (Texas)
1994 Sun Bowl (Texas)
1993 Carquest Bowl (Boston College)
1992 Hall of Fame Bowl (Boston College)
1989 Independence Bowl (Tulsa)
Championships Won
2010 Big South Conference (Liberty)
2009 Big South Conference (Liberty)
2008 Big South Conference (Liberty)
2007 Big South Conference (Liberty)
1996 Big XII Conference (Texas)
1995 Southwest Conference (Texas)
1994 Southwest Conference (Texas)
Head Coaching Honors/Accomplishments
2010 Eddie Robinson Award Nominee (Liberty)
Liberty Mutual National Coach of the Year Finalist (Liberty)
2009 Eddie Robinson Award Nominee (Liberty)
Liberty Mutual National Coach of the Year Finalist (Liberty)
2008 Big South Coach of the Year (Liberty)
Eddie Robinson Award Nominee (Liberty)
Liberty Mutual National Coach of the Year Finalist (Liberty)
2007 Big South Coach of the Year (Liberty)
2006 Big South Coach of the Year (Liberty)
Tied for the nation’s best turnaround
