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Tom Quinn, who was hired at Stanford on February 12, 2002, begins his fourth season on the Cardinal coaching staff. Quinn coached tight ends in 2002 and '03, then moved to the defensive side of the ball to coach outside linebackers in 2004. He has coached the Cardinal's special teams the past three years and will continue in that role under Walt Harris.
During his time on The Farm, Quinn has made an impact on offense, defense and special teams. He coached Alex Smith at tight end in '02-03. Smith went on in '04 to become the school's most prolific receiving tight end while earning First-Team All-Pac-10 and Second-Team All-America honors. Defensively, Quinn's top pupil a year ago at outside linebacker was Jon Alston, who was among the Pac-10 leaders in sacks and tackles for loss and was named Second-Team All-Pac-10.
Under his leadership, Stanford's special teams have flourished the past three years. Last season, the Cardinal led the league and was seventh in the NCAA in kickoff returns, averaging 24.63 yards per return. T.J. Rushing finished the year No. 1 in the Pac-10 and No. 6 in the nation with a 28.39 KOR average, earning him First-Team All-Pac-10 recognition. Another Quinn pupil, Michael Okwo, earned First-Team All-Pac-10 honors as a special teams player while redshirt freshman punter Jay Ottovegio became the first freshman in school history to average more than 40 yards per punt.
In 2003, Stanford was No. 2 in the nation and No. 1 in the Pac-10 in kickoff coverage as it limited opponents to just 14.1 yards per return. Stanford's net punting (37.14) was its best in seven years while punter Eric Johnson broke school records for most punts (86) and most punting yards in a season (3,687).
Quinn, a 1990 graduate of the University of Arizona, has coached on the collegiate level the past 13 years. His previous stops have been at Davidson College, James Madison University, Boston University, Holy Cross and San Jose State.
No stranger to Pac-10 football, Quinn was a linebacker for the Wildcats from 1986-90. He was a member of three Arizona teams that participated in bowl games: 1986 Aloha, 1989 Copper, 1990 Aloha). During his five years in Tucson, Quinn earned a Bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in 1990 and a Master's in Education in 1991.
He began his coaching career immediately after completing his eligibility at Arizona. His first job was as the linebackers coach at Davidson College in 1991. After one season, he moved on to James Madison University, where he was the special teams coordinator and recruiting coordinator for three years (1992-94).
For the next four years, Quinn held the defensive coordinator's position at both Boston University and Holy Cross. He worked at Boston during the 1995 season before moving on to Holy Cross for the next three years (1996-98).
Quinn was on the staff at San Jose State for three seasons (1999-2001) prior to coming to Stanford. He worked under Dave Baldwin in 1999 and 2000 and was the only holdover when the staff changed in 2001. Quinn coached linebackers and tight ends and was the special teams coordinator.
Under Quinn's tutelage, the Spartans put together some of the finest special teams units in the nation. San Jose State ranked sixth in the nation in net punting in 1999 and 25th in 2000. Punter Tim Morgan was an All-Western Athletic Conference selection in '99 while return specialists Jarmar Julien and Walking Bailey were nationally ranked in punt and kickoff returns. The Spartans also ranked 16th in the NCAA in punt returns in 1999.
Quinn and his wife, Alison, are the parents of a son, Shane, and a daughter, Logan.
| Coaching Assignments | |
| 1991 | Davidson College - Linebackers |
| 1992-94 | James Madison - Special Teams/ |
| Recruiting Coordinator | |
| 1995 | Boston - Defensive Coordinator |
| 1996-98 | Holy Cross - Defensive Coordinator |
| 1999-01 | San Jose State - Linebackers/Tight Ends/ |
| Special Teams | |
| 2002-04 | Stanford - Tight Ends/ |
| Special Teams (2002-03); | |
| Defensive Ends/Special Teams (2004) | |
Prominent Players Coached
Ed Perry, TE, James Madison
Dion Foxx, DE, James Madison
David Poluka, DE, Holy Cross
Tim Morgan, P, San Jose State
The Quinn File
Full Name: Tom Quinn
Hometown: Pasadena, California
High School: Foothill
College: Arizona, 1990
(B.A., Interdisciplinary Studies)
Graduate Degree: Arizona, 1991 (M.A., Education)
Wife: Alison
Children: Shane
Playing Experience: ILB, Arizona, 1986-90
Last Updated: July 7, 2005