Josh Linam - Linebackers Coach - Football Coaches

Josh Linam

Title:
Linebackers Coach
Email:
lufootball@liberty.edu
Start Date:
03/20/2023

Josh Linam helped Liberty to unprecedented heights during his first season on the Mountain at Linebackers Coach in 2023.

Liberty entered bowl season with a perfect 13-0 record and was one of four undefeated teams in the country, joining Florida State, Washington and eventual national champion Michigan.

Linam helped the Flames to an unblemished 8-0 regular season record in Conference USA and a 49-35 win over New Mexico State in the CUSA Football Championship game.

The team’s success positioned the Flames to receive their first-ever invitation to play in a New Year’s Six bowl game. Liberty squared off against No. 8 Oregon in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on January 1 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

Liberty’s defense proved to be very opportunistic during the 2023 season as the Flames led the nation with 21 total interceptions and ranked No. 9 in the country in turnovers gained (25).

Each turnover resulted in a viral celebration with the player who recorded the turnover wearing the famed Liberty Flames’ Joker mask while celebrating with his teammates and coaches on the sidelines.

The Flames returned two of their national-leading 21 interceptions for a touchdown in 2023, allowing Liberty to rank No. 29 nationally in defensive touchdowns scored (2).

While Liberty’s offense led the country in rushing offense (293.3 yards per game), the Flames’ defensive counterparts were just as tough against the run. Liberty finished the 2023 season ranked No. 24 in the country in rushing defense (116.7 yards allowed per game).

Linebacker Tyren Dupree capped his career at Liberty with a standout senior season under Linam’s leadership. Dupree led the Flames with 124 total tackles (67 solo, 57 assisted) and was named the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year.

Following the 2023 season, Dupree was one of four Flames to sign a free agent contract with an NFL franchise. After his career senior year, Dupree signed with the New York Jets.

Linam brought a vast coaching knowledge from several stops along his coaching career to Liberty Mountain when he joined the staff as the Flames’ Linebackers Coach in 2023.

Linam came to Liberty after spending the first part of the 2023 spring season as a defensive analyst at Auburn (January to March).

During the 2022 season, Linam served as the defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Catawba College. He helped coach Zy Brown, a freshman defensive back, who earned SAC Piedmont Division second-team honors. He finished the season with 42 tackles (33 solo, nine assisted), 1.5 tackles for a loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

During the 2021 season, Linam served as a senior defensive analyst at Georgia Tech, a season that saw the Yellow Jackets upended No. 20 North Carolina, 45-22, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It marked Georgia Tech’s first win over a ranked team since 2017.

Linam brings experience from one of Liberty’s new Conference USA opponents as he served as a linebackers coach at Jacksonville State during the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

Jacksonville State posted a 10-3 record in 2020 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA FCS Playoffs. The Gamecocks punched their ticket to the postseason with a 28-14 win over No. 17 Murray State, the program’s ninth Ohio Valley Conference title.

Three of Linam’s linebackers earned All-OVC honors in 2020 – outside linebacker Jaylen Swain (first team) and inside linebackers Marshall Clark and Markail Benton (second team).

Swain, who was also named to the All-OVC Newcomer team, finished the season with 48 tackles (28 solo, 20 assisted), while adding 11.5 tackles for a loss, 3.0 sacks, 10 quarterback hurries, two pass breakups and two forced fumbles.

Following the 2020 season, Linam was selected by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) to its 2021 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute.

The AFCA 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute is a prestigious program aimed at identifying and developing premier, future leaders in the football coaching profession. Selected participants are invited to attend the one-day institute that features a curriculum of interactive lectures focused on topics specifically tailored to emphasize leadership in the coaching profession, ethics, influential responsibilities, career progression, and family balance.

Zack Woodard earned All-OVC honors in 2019, as the second-team selection lead the Gamecocks with 96 tackles (43 solo, 53 assisted), 7.0 tackles for a loss, four pass breakups, two quarterback hurries and an interception.

Linam spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons at Temple as a defensive analyst, while also assisting in recruiting.

The Owls finished the 2018 season with an 8-5 overall record and ranked second in the American Athletic Conference East standings with a 7-1 league record. The eight-win season earned Temple a trip to the Walk-On’s Independence Bowl where they faced Duke.

In 2017, Temple posted a 7-6 overall record and capped the season with a resounding 28-3 win over FIU in the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl.

That 2017 team led the American Athletic Conference in interceptions, was second in passing defense and third in total defense, while having an FBS-best five players with 10 or more tackles for a loss.

Linam spent the 2016 season as a defensive graduate assistant at Florida where the Gators posted a 9-4 record and a 6-2 mark in the SEC. Florida finished the 2016 campaign with a 30-3 win over Iowa in the Outback Bowl.

Prior to Florida, Linam spent the 2015 season as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, UCF and served as linebackers coach at Division III Huntington College in 2014.

His three starting linebackers - Zach Brownell (99), Jacob Wright (85), and Jake Green (75) - finished in the top three on the team in tackles. The tackling trio also combined for 25.5 tackles for a loss, 5.0 sacks, four interceptions, three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles.

Brownell had his best season under Linam, earning him the USA South Conference Defensive Player of the Year honor and first-team all-region and all-conference honors, to go with a D3football.com All-American honorable mention.

Linam played four seasons (2008-11) at linebacker at UCF where he was a two-year starter for the Knights, and registered 165 tackles, three sacks, six pass breakups and three interceptions.

Linam also earned recognition for his effort in the classroom, becoming a two-time Conference USA All-Academic and CoSIDA Academic All-District selection, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sports and fitness.

After graduating from UCF, Linam signed with the San Diego Chargers as a free agent and then spent time with the Miami Dolphins in the summer of 2012.

The native of Tavares, Fla., graduated from UCF in 2012 with a bachelor's degree in sports and fitness before earning a master’s degree from Florida in sport management in 2018.

Linam at a Glance
Coaching Experience:

2023-24 – Liberty (LB)
2023 – Auburn (Defensive Analyst)
2022 – Catawba College (DC/Safety)
2021 – Georgia Tech (Senior Defensive Analyst)
2019-20 – Jacksonville State (LB)
2017-18 – Temple (Defensive Analyst/Recruiting)
2016 – Florida (Defensive Graduate)
2015 – UCF (Graduate Assistant)
2014 – Huntington College (LB)

Education: Bachelor's degree in sports and fitness (UCF, '12); Master's degree in sport management (Florida, '18)
Hometown: Tavares, Fla.
Wife: Tori
Children: Navy and Oakley