Longtime Division I assistant coach Ron West begins his first year on the Sewanee staff in 2025, serving as the defensive coordinator and defensive line coach.
The East Point, Ga., native has worked at 13 Division I institutions over his 40-year coaching career, including 10 seasons at Clemson, seven years at UL Lafayette, five at Texas Tech, four at Baylor and three at Georgia Tech. He has worked on both sides of the ball with the offensive and defensive lines and served as defensive coordinator at UL Lafayette, Tulsa, Arizona State and North Carolina as well as offensive coordinator at Baylor.
West earned junior college All-America honors as a player at Marion Military Institute in Alabama before transferring to Clemson. He was part of the 1978 ACC championship and Gator Bowl teams that finished sixth nationally with an 11-1 record, with West starting a pair of games on the offensive line that season.
After graduating from Clemson in 1979, he began his coaching career as offensive line coach at North Texas in 1980. His coaching resume also includes 16 years coaching offensive lines, including stints at Texas Tech (1981-85), Baylor (1993-96), Tulane (1997-98) and Clemson (1999-08).
He spent seven years as the defensive coordinator at UL Lafayette (1986-92), including serving as the assistant head coach in 1992. During his four years at Baylor, West worked for head coach Chuck Reedy and helped the Bears win a share of the Southwest Conference title in 1994. At Tulane, West was part of the Green Wave’s perfect 12-0 season in 1998.
He joined the Clemson staff in 1999 as offensive line coach, moved to the defensive line in 2004 and spent his final four years with the Tigers coaching outside linebackers. In 2006, West coached one of the greatest players in Clemson history, the late Gaines Adams – the fourth overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. Adams was named to all five All-America teams in 2006 and was recognized as one of seven unanimous first-team All-Americans that year.
After leaving Clemson, West worked one season at Tulsa (2009/Co-Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers), two years at Illinois (2010-11/Outside Linebackers-Special Teams), one season at Arizona State (2012/ Co-Defensive Coordinator) and two years at North Carolina (2013-14, Co-Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers).
He then spent three years as the co-offensive line coach at Georgia Tech (2016-18). In 2018, the Yellow Jackets led the nation in rushing and finished second in the ACC Coastal Division. In his first two seasons in Atlanta, Tech to lead the ACC and ranked among the Top 10 nationally in rushing offense both years (258.1 yards-per-game in 2016, 307.4 in 2017).
West worked one year as a Senior Defensive Analyst at West Virginia in 2019 and one season as Linebackers Coach at North Carolina Central in 2020.
In total West brings 40 years of experience as a collegiate coach, 19 years on offense, 21 years on defense and 11 years in coordinator roles. During his career, he coached in 19 bowl games, including 10 victories. West also coached and/or recruited 17 players who went on to professional careers.
West and his wife Becky, have two adult children, Brad and Lori, and two grandchildren, Wyatt and Lily.
Ron West's All-Time Coaching Record
| Year |
School |
Position |
Record |
Postseason |
| 1980 |
North Texas |
Offensive Line |
6-5 |
|
| 1981 |
Texas Tech |
Linebackers/Offensive Line/Special Teams |
1-9-1 |
|
| 1982 |
Texas Tech |
Linebackers/Offensive Line/Special Teams |
4-7 |
|
| 1983 |
Texas Tech |
Linebackers/Offensive Line/Special Teams |
3-7-1 |
|
| 1984 |
Texas Tech |
Linebackers/Offensive Line/Special Teams |
4-7 |
|
| 1985 |
Texas Tech |
Linebackers/Offensive Line/Special Teams |
4-7 |
|
| 1986 |
Louisiana-Lafayette |
Defensive Coordinator |
6-5 |
|
| 1987 |
Louisiana-Lafayette |
Defensive Coordinator |
6-5 |
|
| 1988 |
Louisiana-Lafayette |
Defensive Coordinator |
6-5 |
|
| 1989 |
Louisiana-Lafayette |
Defensive Coordinator |
7-4 |
|
| 1990 |
Louisiana-Lafayette |
Defensive Coordinator |
5-6 |
|
| 1991 |
Louisiana-Lafayette |
Defensive Coordinator |
2-8-1 |
|
| 1992 |
Louisiana-Lafayette |
Defensive Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach |
2-9 |
|
| 1993 |
Baylor |
Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line |
5-6 |
|
| 1994 |
Baylor |
Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line |
7-5 |
tied Southwest Conference championship/Alamo Bowl |
| 1995 |
Baylor |
Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line |
7-4 |
F |
| 1996 |
Baylor |
Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line |
4-7 |
S |
| 1997 |
Tulane |
Offensive Line |
7-4 |
S |
| 1998 |
Tulane |
Offensive Line |
12-0 |
CUSA championship/Liberty Bowl |
| 1999 |
Clemson |
Offensive Line |
6-6 |
Peach Bowl |
| 2000 |
Clemson |
Offensive Line |
9-3 |
Gator Bowl |
| 2001 |
Clemson |
Offensive Line |
7-5 |
Humanitarian Bowl |
| 2002 |
Clemson |
Offensive Line |
7-6 |
Tangerine |
| 2003 |
Clemson |
Offensive Line |
9-4 |
Peach Bowl |
| 2004 |
Clemson |
Defensive Line |
6-5 |
|
| 2005 |
Clemson |
Outside Linebackers |
8-4 |
Champs Sports Bowl |
| 2006 |
Clemson |
Outside Linebackers |
8-5 |
Music City Bowl |
| 2007 |
Clemson |
Outside Linebackers |
9-4 |
Chick-fil-A Bowl |
| 2008 |
Clemson |
Outside Linebackers |
7-6 |
Gator Bowl |
| 2009 |
Tulsa |
Co-Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers |
5-5 |
|
| 2010 |
Illinois |
Outside Linebackers/Special Teams |
7-6 |
Texas Bowl |
| 2011 |
Illinois |
Outside Linebackers/Special Teams |
7-6 |
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl |
| 2012 |
Arizona State |
Co-Defensive Coordinator |
8-5 |
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl |
| 2013 |
North Carolina |
Co-Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers |
7-6 |
Belk Bowl |
| 2014 |
North Carolina |
Co-Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers |
6-7 |
Quick Lane Bowl |
| 2016 |
Georgia Tech |
Co-Offensive Line |
9-4 |
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl |
| 2017 |
Georgia Tech |
Co-Offensive Line |
5-6 |
|
| 2018 |
Georgia Tech |
Co-Offensive Line |
7-6 |
Quick Lane Bowl |
| 2019 |
West Virginia |
Senior Defensive Analyst |
5-7 |
S |
| 2021 |
North Carolina Central |
Linebackers |
6-5 |
S |
