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JOE HAERING
FRANK GANSZ, JR.
ASSISTANT COACH LINEBACKERS FOURTH SEASON BUCKNELL
ASSISTANT COACH SPECIAL TEAMS SECOND SEASON THE CITADEL
Joe Haering enters his fourth season as SMU's assistant linebackers coach, having arrived on the Hilltop in 2009 after spending 12 seasons as a college scout with the Buffalo Bills. In 2011, two of Haering’s linebacking crew - Ja'Gared Davis and Taylor Reed – earned second-team All-C-USA Honors. The season was capped off with a BBVA Compass Bowl win that saw the Mustangs limit Pitt to just 10 rushing yards and a Bowl-record-low six points. The 2010 season was an award-winning campaign for SMU's linebacking corps, with all four starters earning All-C-USA honors. Davis was a first-team selection, Youri Yenga was a second-team choice and Pete Fleps and Reed each garnered honorable mention accolades. In Haering's first season on the Hilltop, Chase Kennemer earned AllConference honors, as the senior notched 135 tackles, the most for an SMU player since 1995. Prior to joining the Bills' scouting staff, Haering was an assistant coach with the Atlanta Falcons from 1994-96. Haering oversaw the Falcons' linebackers, and also served as defensive coordinator in 1995 when they earned a spot in the playoffs. His NFL coaching career began in 1978-79 with the New York Jets, where he served as the Linebackers/Special Teams coach. After his first stint in the NFL, Haering became offensive coordinator for the CFL's Hamilton TigerCats in 1980, and helped lead them to an Eastern Division Championship. He coached in the USFL for all three years that it existed, starting in 1983 under Hall of Fame coach George Allen with the Chicago Blitz. He then moved to become defensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Maulers in 1984, and was defensive coordinator for the Denver Gold in 1985. He later served as head coach for the Pittsburgh Gladiators and the Cincinnati Rockers of the Arena League. Prior to his pro coaching career, he spent ten years at the college level, starting out as the Linebackers' coach at his alma mater, Bucknell. Over the next ten years he had stints at Kentucky, Boston University and Kent State. Haering was an All-Conference linebacker for Bucknell, and was a quarterback in high school. After graduating from Bucknell, he received a commission in the United States Army and served as a first lieutenant and company commander in Vietnam. Haering was inducted into the Western Chapter Of The Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in the spring of 2010. Haering and his wife, Sandy, maintain homes in Dallas and Atlanta.
Frank Gansz, Jr., is in his second season as SMU's special teams coach, having joined the Mustangs in the spring of 2011. Gansz, Jr., was set to begin his fourth season in charge of special teams at UCLA before he got the call to come to the Hilltop. Gansz, who has an extensive background at the professional and collegiate levels, was the special teams coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens in 2006 and 2007, prior to his time in Los Angeles. In 2010, UCLA ranked second in the nation in net punting and redshirt sophomore punter Jeff Locke ranked fifth in the nation and first in the Pac-10 with an average of 45.8 yards per kick. Placekicker Kai Forbath tied the school record for field goals and was invited to the Senior Bowl along with long-snapper Christian Yount. In 2009, Gansz led Forbath to the Lou Groza Award and consensus first-team All-America honors, as he made 28 of 31 field goal attempts. UCLA also blocked five kicks and scored a touchdown and two safeties on special teams. In 2008, Aaron Perez led the Pacific-10 in punting, Forbath tied for the league lead in field goals and Austin set UCLA marks for all-purpose yards and kickoff return yards. UCLA also blocked two punts for touchdowns and one extra point for a defensive conversion. In 2007, Baltimore placed ninth in the NFL in punt returns and 10th in the league in kickoff returns. In addition, place kicker Matt Stover made 27 of 32 field goals and all 26 PATs. His 27 field goals tied for 10th in the league. In 2006, Stover led NFL kickers with a 93.3% conversion mark, making 28 of 30 field goals, and ranked fourth among all kickers with 121 points. He was named a first alternate for the Pro Bowl. In addition, linebacker Gary Stills led the NFL with 44 special teams tackles, the second most in NFL history, and was also named a Pro Bowl first alternate. Rookie punter Sam Koch produced just three touchbacks, and downed 30 punts inside the 20 (fifth in NFL). He was second in the league with 12 punts inside the 10. Gansz, spent the previous five seasons (2001-05) as special teams coordinator with the Kansas City Chiefs. During that span, Dante Hall was named to the Pro Bowl in both 2002 and '03 as a kick returner and also led the NFL in most kick returns for touchdowns (10, six on kickoffs and four on punts). Gansz-led units excelled in blocking punts and kicks, recording four blocked punts from 2001-02 and Kansas City batted away three field goals in two seasons (2002-03). In 2003, Gansz's units excelled, leading the NFL with four special teams touchdowns, as Hall scored two kickoff returns and two punt returns for scores, en route to his second consecutive Pro Bowl appearance. Hall became the first player in NFL history to record a score on a kickoff return in four straight games. His touchdown in the divisional playoff game vs. Indianapolis gave him five overall returns on the season. Hall also broke a single-season franchise record with 2,446 combined net yards. Kansas City led the league in both punt return average (16.4) and kick return average (25.4), the first team to do so since Washington in 1995. The 16.4 punt return average broke a 43-year-old team record. In Gansz' second season with the Chiefs (2002), Hall scored on three kick returns (two punts and one kickoff) to earn his first pro bowl berth. In 2001, the Chiefs blocked two punts and partially blocked a third. Prior to his tenure in Kansas City, he coached special teams for the Oakland Raiders for two seasons (1998 and 1999), tutoring standouts Desmond Howard, Darrien Gordon and Napoleon Kaufman. Gansz spent five seasons (1993-97) as tight ends and special teams coach at the University of Houston, setting a school record for kickoff return average in 1996. His units set another school record with an 87-yard punt return vs. SMU en route to the ConferenceUSA championship and a trip to the Liberty Bowl vs. Syracuse. He spent one season (1992) with the New York/New Jersey Knights of the World League (NFL Europe). The Knights led the league in punt returns, kickoff returns, kickoff coverage and special team touchdowns (four). Gansz spent two years (1990-91) as tight ends/special teams coach at West Point, two years at the University of Pittsburgh, coaching special teams and the offensive line in 1988 and special teams and the secondary in 1989, and one season (1987) as a graduate assistant at Kansas, working with the wide receivers. Gansz was a four-year defensive back at The Citadel, graduating with a B.A. in history in 1985. Gansz, Jr., is the son of Frank Gansz, Sr., who served as Special Teams Coach at SMU in 2008 before passing away on April 27, 2009.
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