GREELEY, Colo. –University of Northern Colorado director of athletics Darren Dunn has named Ed Lamb as the next head coach of the Bears football program. The announcement was made Tuesday, Dec. 6.
Lamb will be the 18th head coach of the Bears since 1893. Lamb has just completed his seventh season at BYU while serving as the assistant head coach and special teams coordinator.
No stranger to the Big Sky Conference, Lamb led Southern Utah University for eight seasons where he guided the Thunderbirds to a pair of conference championships.
Inheriting a team that had suffered 18 straight losses, Lamb’s debut campaign saw the Thunderbirds go from 0-11 the previous season to a 4-7 record in 2008. By his third season at the helm, Lamb guided SUU to a winning record at 6-5 and a perfect 4-0 mark in Great West Conference play for the league championship.
“I am incredibly excited to welcome Coach Lamb, his wife Sarah and their family to UNC,” Dunn said. “It was evident through our process Coach Lamb was the man to lead UNC football,” said Director of Athletics Darren Dunn. “He is a man of high character who is a proven winner, tireless recruiter, and developer of young men. He’s won championships as a head coach at the FCS level and has worked alongside and learned from some of the best coaches in football.”
SUU joined the Big Sky Conference in 2012 and earned an invite to the FCS Championships one year later as Lamb’s 2013 team compiled an 8-5 overall record.
In just the fourth year in the Big Sky, Lamb’s 2015 squad posted an 8-4 overall record and a 7-1 mark in conference games to capture the BSC crown.
A two-time Eddie Robinson Award finalist recognizing the top coaches in the FCS, Lamb’s SUU teams earned wins over FBS teams in 2011 (UNLV) and 2013 (South Alabama). In four years as a Big Sky program, Lamb’s teams went 19-13 against conference foes.
Prior to his head coach role at Southern Utah, Lamb was an assistant coach on Jim Harbaugh’s staff at the University of San Diego for three seasons where the Toreros seized three Pioneer League championships.
After beginning his coaching career as a graduate assistant at BYU, Lamb was the defensive coordinator at the University of Idaho from 2002-03 under the direction of head coach Tom Cable.
A native of Pleasanton, California, Lamb played for Lavell Edwards at BYU from 1994-96. Lamb was a member of the 1996 team that went 15-1, won the Cotton Bowl, and closed out the year ranked No. 5 in the country.
“I’m confident Coach Lamb will provide exceptional opportunities for young men to develop and earn their degrees at UNC and restore a tradition of greatness to UNC football,” Dunn said.
A press conference announcing Lamb as the UNC head coach will take place on campus Wednesday, Dec. 7. Open to the public, the conference will take place at approximately 4 p.m. inside the multipurpose room of the UNC Campus Commons.
Ed Lamb
Education: M.A. Education Counseling (University of Redlands, ’98); B.A., English (BYU, ’96); Ricks College (’94)
Hometown: Pleasanton, Calif.
Wife: Sarah
Children: One son, Edward, and three daughters, Anna, Amelia, and Summer
| Year | School | Position | |
| 2001 | BYU | Graduate Assistant | |
| 2002 | Univ. of Idaho | Defensive Coordinator | |
| 2003 | Univ. of Idaho | Defensive Coordinator | |
| 2005 | Univ. of San Diego | Defensive Backs/Special Teams | 11-1 |
| 2006 | Univ. of San Diego | Defensive Backs/Special Teams | 11-1 |
| 2007 | Univ. of San Diego | Defensive Backs/Special Teams | 9-2 |
| 2008 | Southern Utah | Head Coach (4-7, 1-3 Great West, 5th) | |
| 2009 | Southern Utah | Head Coach (5-6, 2-2 Great West, T-2nd) | |
| 2010 | Southern Utah | Head Coach (6-5, 4-0 Great West, 1st) | Great West Champions |
| 2011 | Southern Utah | Head Coach (6-5, 1-3 Great West, T-4th) | Win over FBS UNLV (41-16) |
| 2012 | Southern Utah | Head Coach (5-6, 4-4 Big Sky, T-5th) | Win over FCS No. 1 and No. 11 |
| 2013 | Southern Utah | Head Coach (8-5, 5-3 Big Sky, T-4th) | FCS Playoffs; Win over FBS South Alabama (22-21) |
| 2014 | Southern Utah | Head Coach (3-9, 3-5 Big Sky, T-8th) | |
| 2015 | Southern Utah | Head Coach (8-4, 7-1 Big Sky, 1st) | Big Sky Champions; FCS Playoffs |
| 2016 | BYU | Assistant Head Coach | 9-4, Poinsettia Bowl win over Wyoming |
| 2017 | BYU | Assistant Head Coach | 4-9 |
| 2018 | BYU | Assistant Head Coach | 7-6, Idaho Potato Bowl win over Western Michigan |
| 2019 | BYU | Assistant Head Coach | 7-6, Hawai’i Bowl versus Hawaii |
| 2020 | BYU | Assistant Head Coach | 11-1, Boca Raton Bowl win over UCF |
| 2021 | BYU | Assistant Head Coach | 10-3, Independence Bowl versus UAB |
| 2022 | BYU | Assistant Head Coach | 7-5, New Mexico Bowl |
Kalani Sitake, BYU Head Coach
“First and foremost, Ed is a tremendous person, a great husband, and father with an incredible family. He is a successful and experienced head coach who knows how to establish a culture and lead a football program. Ed has played a significant role in developing our program and the operating systems we use to run our program. As a coach, he has expertise coaching all three phases of the game, offense, defense, and special teams, so he is uniquely prepared to mentor his coaching staff and players to be successful.”
Tom Holmoe, BYU Director of Athletics
“Kudos to Northern Colorado for hiring Ed Lamb as their Head Football Coach. He’s a leader on the field and a great developer of young men off the field. His personal character is a strength that will build this team into a highly competitive unit and grow boys into men.”
Ken Beazer, Utah Tech Athletics Director
“Ed Lamb’s ability to develop successful football programs is well documented. He is a high-character coach who knows how to effectively mold and develop young men. I am thrilled for Ed, Sarah, and their family. Northern Colorado is getting a great coach, who will have an immediate impact upon its football program and community.”
