Art Kaufman spent three seasons as the defensive coordinator at Cal from 2014-16 and also worked directly with the Golden Bears' linebackers in his final season. Kaufman has spent 35 seasons as a collegiate coach and 18 as a defensive coordinator.
The highlight of Kaufman's tenure at Cal came during his second season with the Bears in 2015 when Cal was 8-5 to record its first eight-win season since the 2009 team was also 8-5 with only 29 teams since the beginning of Cal football in 1882-83 winning eight or more and only 17 either nine or 10. Cal capped its 2015 season with its first bowl victory since 2008 in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl with the spot in postseason play its first since 2011.
Much of Cal's success in 2015 was because the Bears' defense continued to improve at a rapid rate, allowing 15.8 points fewer than the final season than in 2013 the year before Kaufman's arrival. Cal was one of the nation's top teams in categories related to caused turnovers in 2015 as the Bears finished the campaign tied for 11th nationally in fumbles recovered (12), tied for 13th in turnovers gained (27), tied for 23rd in passes intercepted (15) and tied for 25th in defensive touchdowns (3). Cal tied for first in the Pac-12 in fumbles recovered, tied for second in turnovers gained and passes intercepted, and tied for fourth in defensive touchdowns. All of the 2015 numbers and rankings were improvements from the previous season.
Kaufman's final Cal defense in 2016 also had several big moments most notably a goal-line stand against on the final series of the game that propelled the Bears to a 28-23 victory over No. 18/18 Utah. The Utes had first-and-goal from the two-yard line and were turned back three times with James Looney stopping Zack Moss just inches short of the goal-line on the final play to set off a wild celebration in Berkeley. Cal's defense had also stopped Utah on downs in the red zone earlier in the fourth quarter with Looney and Tony Mekari making the final stop.
Kaufman's defense played arguably its best game of the season in his final contest at Cal in a 36-10 win over UCLA, marking the first ast time Cal held an opponent to 10 points or fewer since a 23-6 win over Oregon State. Cal pitched a first-half shutout to mark its first scoreless half since the 2015 season-opener against Grambling State and first against a Pac-12 team since Washington State in 2011. Cal held UCLA to 260 total yards in the contest.
Kaufman coached four honorable mention All-Pac-12 selections at four different positions during his three seasons at Cal with the defensive tackle Looney earning the honor in 2016 after defensive end Kyle Kragen, safety Stefan McClure and linebacker Hardy Nickerson were selected in 2015.
Looney was also a third-team All-Pac-12 selection by Phil Steele and Cal's Bear Backers Team MVP on defense as a 2016 junior after starting all 12 games and compiling 54 tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss (-38 yards), 3.5 sacks (-22 yards), two quarterback hurries, one fumble recovery that he returned 25 yards at USC for the team’s lone fumble return of the campaign and one forced fumble.
Kragen capped his collegiate career with a huge 2015 senior season as he led Cal with career highs in tackles for loss (8.0, -43 yards), sacks (7.0, -36 yards) and quarterback hurries (6) while sharing the team lead with his first two career forced fumbles and adding his first career fumble recovery. In addition to being an honorable mention All-Pac-12 choice of the league's coaches, Kragen earned third-team All-Pac-12 honors from Phil Steele. He was also added to the midseason watch list for the Ted Hendricks Award honoring the nation’s top defensive end.
McClure, the only three-time team captain in school history, recovered from a series of injuries that caused him to miss 25 of 49 possible games including the entire 2012 campaign over his first four seasons to post career highs of 61 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss (-14 yards) and his first career sack (-9 yards) as a 2015 senior, as well as his third career fumble recovery that he returned 45 yards for his first career touchdown against Washington State and three pass breakups. McClure earned honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors from the league's coaches for the first time in his career and was selected as the winner of Cal's prestigious Joe Roth Award honoring the player who best exemplifies courage, sportsmanship and attitude. He was also named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against Washington State, was on the Wuerffel Trophy watch list, and was Cal’s nominee for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®.
Nickerson was named Cal's Bear Backers Defensive MVP after he recorded 112 tackles as a 2015 junior to become the program's first player to record 100 or more stops in a single-season since Mychal Kendricks registered 107 in 2011 and the most since Mike Mohamed also had 112 in 2009. He ranked third in the Pac-12 in total tackles as well as fourth in the league and 48th nationally with 8.6 stops per game.
Kragen (Denver) and McClure (Indianapolis) both signed undrafted free agent NFL contracts after the season and have spent time on the Broncos' and Colts' practice squads.
Kaufman's defense also improved in his first season at Cal in 2014 were highlighted by a jump of 48 spots and 44 yards per game in rush defense to No. 38 nationally (144.6 ypg). The 2014 defense also shaved 6.1 points per game off the total number of points allowed and finished 35 spots higher nationally in red zone defense.
Kaufman has developed some of the top defenses in the country at multiple stops over his first 35 seasons as a collegiate coach and 18 campaigns as a defensive coordinator having previously served in the role at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level at Cincinnati, North Carolina, Mississippi and Texas Tech. Kaufman was nominated for the prestigious Broyles Award given annually to college football’s top assistant coach both at North Carolina in 2011 and Texas Tech in 2012.
Kaufman was the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Cincinnati in 2013 when the Bearcats finished 9-4 overall and played in the Belk Bowl. Kaufman’s 2013 defense was one of the best in the country, ranking in the top 10 nationally in both rushing defense (6th, 104.5 ypg) and total defense (9th, 315.6 ypg). Cincinnati was also among the top 30 in 10 of the 11 primary defensive categories tracked in the national stats, including 14th in scoring defense (21.0 ppg), third-down conversion percentage defense (33.1%) and first downs defense (230); 23rd in sacks (2.69 spg) and red-zone defense (76.5%); 25th in team passing efficiency defense (116.75); 26th in tackles for loss (6.80 tflpg); and 29th in passing yards allowed (211.2 ypg).
At Cincinnati he coached first-team All-American Athletic Conference defensive lineman Jordan Stepp in the inaugural season of the league while three Bearcats – defensive lineman Silverberry Mouhon, linebacker Greg Blair and cornerback Deven Drane – were second-team selections on the defensive side of the ball. Blair led the squad with 106 tackles, while Mouhon (9.5 spg) and Stepp (6.0 spg) were first and second on the club in sacks.
The performance of Kaufman’s defense during his single season in Cincinnati came on the heels of a 2012 campaign in which he led a complete overhaul of the Texas Tech defense. Inheriting a 2011 unit that ranked 114th nationally in total defense (485.58 ypg), the Red Raiders improved to 38th (367.31 ypg) while ranking second in the Big 12 Conference. Texas Tech was keyed by a pass defense that led the league and ranked 15th in the country (192.00 ypg). The Red Raiders finished 8-5 overall and were victorious at the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
Texas Tech defensive lineman Kerry Hyder along with defensive backs Cody Davis and D.J. Johnson were named second-team All-Big 12 in 2012 while Davis was also a first-team Capital One Academic All-America® selection and one of 15 finalists for the prestigious William B. Campbell Trophy also known as the “Academic Heisman”. Davis led the team in tackles (101) and interceptions (3), including one that he returned 88 yards for a touchdown, while adding seven pass breakups and 3.5 tackles for loss. Johnson was second on the squad with 90 stops while Hyder finished third with 56 tackles, a team-leading 14.0 tackles for loss and a team co-leading 6.0 sacks. He tallied 10.5 tackles for loss during Big 12 play to rank third in the league.
Kaufman joined the Red Raiders from North Carolina, where he was the defensive coordinator for the Tar Heels in 2011 and the linebackers coach for three campaigns from 2009-11. Kaufman helped guide the 2011 Tar Heels to a No. 27 national ranking in rush defense (123.92 ypg), a No. 48 ranking in total defense (365.23 ypg) and an appearance against Missouri in the Independence Bowl.
North Carolina developed several outstanding linebackers under Kaufman’s guidance, including current NFL players Zach Brown (Buffalo) and Bruce Carter (New York Jets). Brown is having a monster season in his first campaign in Buffalo in 2016 with 123 tackles through 13 games
Brown posted strong numbers in his final collegiate season in 2011 to earn first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors when he paced the Tar Heels with 105 tackles and co-led the squad with three interceptions and three pass breakups, while adding 13.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. Defensive tackle Quinton Coples also picked up first-team All-ACC honors for the second consecutive season and was selected by the New York Jets in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft with the 16th selection overall. Coples played four seasons with New York (2012-15), one with Miami (2015) and was signed by the Los Angeles Rams in 2016 before being released during training camp.
Kevin Reddick (74) and Brown (72) were North Carolina’s top two tacklers in 2010, with Brown adding three interceptions that he ran back for 113 yards. Despite injuries to Carter and linebacker Quan Sturdivant, a sixth-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals in the 2011 NFL Draft, the Tar Heels finished fourth in the ACC and 30th in the country in total defense (338.54 ypg) led by a rushing defense that was fourth in the league and 22nd nationally (125.62 ypg).
North Carolina’s linebackers helped lead a unit that finished first in the ACC and sixth in the nation in total defense (269.62 ypg) on the team’s way to an 8-5 record and a spot in the Meineke Car Care Bowl in 2009. The Tar Heels were 10th in the country against the run (95.62 ypg) and 13th in scoring defense (17.08 ppg), ranking first and second in the conference. Carolina was the only team in the country to finish among the top 15 in total defense, rushing defense, third-down efficiency (3rd, 29.4%), tackles for loss (6th, 8.08 tflpg), pass defense (14th, 174.0 ypg) and pass efficiency defense (14th, 105.32). Sturdivant earned first-team All-ACC honors after leading the Tar Heels with 79 stops, while Carter was a second-team all-conference pick.
Prior to his three-year run at North Carolina, Kaufman spent one season coaching the defensive line and special teams at Southern Miss (2008), three coaching linebackers at Middle Tennessee (2005-07), two as the defensive line coach at East Carolina (2003-04), and two as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Arkansas Tech (2001-02).
During his lone season at Southern Miss, the Golden Eagles posted a 7-6 record and won their last five games, including a New Orleans Bowl victory. Kaufman’s 2006 team at Middle Tennessee won a co-Sun Belt League title and was the school’s first bowl squad in 45 seasons, with the Blue Raiders’ defense ranking third in the nation in tackles for loss (8.08 tflpg) and 20th in sacks (2.77 spg). His first team at Arkansas Tech was 8-2.
Kaufman coached 10 of the previous 13 seasons over two stints at Mississippi, starting in 1988 with a four-year run working with the defensive ends and linebackers before returning to Ole Miss for six campaigns from 1995-2000 as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.
During his first run at Ole Miss, Kaufman helped guide the Rebels to back-to-back bowl appearances during the 1989 (Liberty Bowl) and 1990 (Gator Bowl) seasons for the first time since 1970 and 1971. In his second tour of duty, the Rebels played in four straight bowls (1997-2000) with his 1999 squad ranking fourth nationally in rushing defense (76.9 ypg).
In between his two stints at Mississippi he spent three seasons as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Louisiana Tech (1992-94). His 1992 team ranked fourth nationally in total defense (256.5 ypg).
Kaufman also coached five seasons at Northwestern State (1983-87), working with the outside linebackers for the first four campaigns before being promoted to defensive coordinator/linebackers coach for his fifth and final season.
Kaufman broke into the coaching profession as a graduate assistant at Delta State in 1982 after receiving his bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas at Monticello in 1980. He was a four-year starting linebacker during his collegiate playing days with the Boll Weevils.
A native of Dermott, Ark., Kaufman has three daughters: Tara, Taylor and Madison.
Art Kaufman File
Birthdate: December 23, 1957
Hometown: Dermott, AR
High School: Dermott HS
College: Arkansas at Monticello, 1980, Bachelor's in Agriculture
Family: Daughters, Tara, Taylor and Madison
Collegiate Coaching History (35 Seasons)
Season: School – Position
1982: Delta State – Graduate Assistant
1983: Northwestern State – Outside Linebackers
1984: Northwestern State – Outside Linebackers
1985: Northwestern State – Outside Linebackers
1986: Northwestern State – Outside Linebackers
1987: Northwestern State – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
1988: Mississippi – Defensive Ends/Outside Linebackers
1989: Mississippi – Defensive Ends/Outside Linebackers
1990: Mississippi – Defensive Ends/Outside Linebackers
1991: Mississippi – Defensive Ends/Outside Linebackers
1992: Louisiana Tech – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
1993: Louisiana Tech – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
1994: Louisiana Tech – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
1995: Mississippi – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
1996: Mississippi – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
1997: Mississippi – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
1998: Mississippi – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
1999: Mississippi – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
2000: Mississippi – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
2001: Arkansas Tech – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
2002: Arkansas Tech – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
2003: East Carolina – Defensive Line
2004: East Carolina – Defensive Line
2005: Middle Tennessee – Linebackers
2006: Middle Tennessee – Linebackers
2007: Middle Tennessee – Linebackers
2008: Southern Miss – Defensive Line/Special Teams
2009: North Carolina – Linebackers
2010: North Carolina – Linebackers
2011: North Carolina – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
2012: Texas Tech – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
2013: Cincinnati – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
2014: Cal – Defensive Coordinator
2015: Cal – Defensive Coordinator
2016: Cal – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
Bowl History (14 Games)
*Season: School – Bowl
1989: Mississippi – Liberty Bowl
1990: Mississippi – Gator Bowl
1997: Mississippi – Motor City Bowl
1998: Mississippi – Independence Bowl
1999: Mississippi – Independence Bowl
2000: Mississippi – Music City Bowl
2006: Middle Tennessee – Motor City Bowl
2008: Southern Miss – New Orleans Bowl
2009: North Carolina – Meineke Car Care Bowl
2010: North Carolina – Meineke Car Care Bowl
2011: North Carolina – Independence Bowl
2012: Texas Tech – Meineke Car Care Bowl
2013: Cincinnati – Belk Bowl
2015: Cal – Armed Forces Bowl
*Season in which bowl game was played
Last Updated
December 15, 2016
