JONESBORO, Ark. (1/25/19) – Arkansas State head football coach Blake Anderson announced Friday the final addition to the Red Wolves' full-time coaching staff, naming coaching veteran Ed Pinkham as the interior defensive line coach.

Pinkham brings over 40 years of collegiate coaching experience with him to A-State, including 31 as a defensive coordinator. He most recently spent the last two seasons in the role at UMass, but also had FBS stops as defensive coordinator at Rutgers and Western Michigan. He served as the secondary coach at Minnesota from 1989-91 as well.

His time UMass saw the program record its most wins in back-to-back seasons in its seven-year history as an FBS member, while also collecting its first win over a team from one of the power-five conferences.

He went to UMass after spending 2013-16 as the defensive coordinator at Western Michigan. The 2016 season saw the Broncos post an undefeated 13-0 regular-season record and a final No. 12 ranking, while also earning a berth in the Cotton Bowl, where it dropped a narrow 24-16 decision to Wisconsin. Pinkham's unit ranked No. 8 in defensive touchdowns across the nation, No. 15 in scoring defense, No. 18 in turnovers gained, No. 22 in interceptions forced and No. 26 in total defense.

Prior to spending 2011-12 as Elon's defensive coordinator, Pinkham held the same position at Rutgers from 2009-10 and was the program's secondary coach in 2008. He guided the 2009 Rutgers defense, which included Devin and Jason McCourty, to national top-20 rankings in five statistical categories: tackles for loss (No. 1), turnover margin (No. 2), rush defense (No. 15), scoring defense (No. 16) and total defense (No. 18). Also in 2009, Rutgers' defense held opponents to 15 points or less seven times and the Scarlet Knights' secondary ranked second in the Big East defending the pass.



Pinkham spent the 1996-2007 seasons at Colgate. His units led the Patriot League in defense in 1999, 2003, 2004 and 2006 and, in 2007, the Raiders ranked No. 10 nationally against the run, No. 22 in total defense and No. 26 in scoring defense.



Pinkham's previous stops also included Holy Cross (1992-95), New Hampshire (1977-88) and Allegheny College (1975-76).



A 1975 graduate of Allegheny College, Pinkham is a native of Clark, New Jersey. He was a four-year letterwinner, four-time all-conference honoree and an Associated Press Second-Team All-American at safety for the Gators.