Doman Named BYU Offensive Coordinator, Poppinga Outside Linebackers Coach

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PROVO -- BYU head football coach Bronco Mendenhall today announced that quarterbacks coach Brandon Doman has been promoted to offensive coordinator and graduate assistant Kelly Poppinga has been promoted to a permanent position on the defensive staff as outside linebackers coach.

“I believe Brandon is the best quarterbacks coach in the country and I’m excited he has accepted the opportunity to also serve as offensive coordinator,” Mendenhall said. “He is one of the bright young coaches in the country and the kind of person who exemplifies the core values that our program represents. He is a great teacher and mentor to all in his care, and I’m confident he will thrive in this opportunity to build upon our successes as a program and as an offensive unit.”

As offensive coordinator, Doman will continue to serve as the team’s quarterbacks coach, a position he accepted in 2005 after playing three years as a quarterback in the NFL.

“I am both humbled and excited about this new opportunity,” Doman said. “I appreciate the experience I’ve gained working on Coach Mendenhall’s staff the past six years, and I’m looking forward to doing all I can to help us continue to be very successful. I have great confidence in the players we have in the program and the players coming in.”

As quarterbacks coach the past six years, Doman tutored two starters currently in the NFL and Jake Heaps, who broke all BYU freshman quarterback records this past season. John Beck, now with the Washington Redskins, earned second-team All-America honors before moving on to a professional career, while Max Hall, now with the Arizona Cardinals, finished his BYU career with the most wins (32) ever by a Cougar quarterback. Heaps received Freshman All-America honorable mention in 2010 and earned New Mexico Bowl Offensive MVP honors.

A 2002 BYU graduate in business, Doman led the Cougars to a 14-2 record as a starting quarterback under both legendary Cougar coach LaVell Edwards and Gary Crowton from 1998-2001. He was a unanimous All-Mountain West Conference selection and Heisman Trophy candidate as a senior in 2001 when he threw for 3,542 yards and 33 touchdowns with only eight interceptions. He also ran for an additional 503 yards and eight touchdowns during his senior campaign.

Known for his leadership qualities, Doman was a fifth-round pick in the 2002 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers, where he spent the majority of his three NFL seasons. He also played for the Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins. A native of Salt Lake City, Utah, Doman and his wife Alisha have four children, Sage, Isaac, Jace and Myles.

Also a former BYU player, Poppinga has served as a defensive graduate assistant and intern on Mendenhall’s staff the past two years, including taking over the outside linebacker responsibilities for the final eight games of the 2010 season.

“Kelly is a bright, aggressive and skilled football coach,” Mendenhall said. “He has demonstrated as a player and now as a coach that he demands excellence of himself and others. Kelly did an exceptional job this past season when asked to step into the role of coaching our outside linebackers and I’m excited to have him continue in that position.”

After playing one year in the NFL, Poppinga returned to BYU for the 2009 season as the defensive intern and contributed to the team's 11-2 record and 44-20 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas victory over No. 16 Oregon State. After the team’s 1-4 start in 2010, Poppinga was asked as the defensive graduate assistant to assume the role as outside linebackers coach and helped the Cougars finish 6-2 over the remaining games, including a 52-24 win over UTEP at the New Mexico Bowl.

Poppinga was an All-MWC linebacker and Academic All-MWC honoree at BYU under Mendenhall while helping the Cougars achieve back-to-back conference championships in 2006 and 2007. He redshirted Mendenhall’s first season as head coach in 2005 after transferring from Utah State. Poppinga helped BYU achieve Las Vegas Bowl wins over Oregon and UCLA and led the team with 113 tackles his senior season. He played in the NFL in 2008, seeing time on three teams before going to Super Bowl XLIII with the Arizona Cardinals.

“It’s an honor to have the opportunity to coach at the university where I played and under Coach Mendenhall, who has been a great mentor to me,” Poppinga said. “I’m excited to help our program be successful and reach our goals through football excellence. I look forward to coaching the many talented players we have at outside linebacker and help them succeed.”

A native of Evanston, Wyo., Poppinga has completed bachelor’s (2007) and master’s (2010) degrees from BYU in exercise science. He and his wife Rebekah have a baby daughter, Elsie.