Kevin Cosgrove was named the defensive coordinator at LIU in February 2022.
Cosgrove arrived after his 40th season at the collegiate level at Texas Tech, which includes 23 seasons as a defensive coordinator.
He arrived at Texas Tech after spending the 2019 campaign as the lead defensive analyst on LSU’s national championship team.
Cosgrove worked closely with Krishon Merriweather, who led the Red Raiders with 75 tackles in his first year in 2020, followed by Colin Schooler with 63 and Riko Jeffers with 58. Schooler entered the 2021 campaign as the NCAA’s active leader in career tackles and career tackles for a loss dating back to his time at Arizona.
Cosgrove has served the bulk of his career as a defensive coordinator with stops at the likes of Wisconsin (1995-03), Nebraska (2004-07) and Minnesota (2009-10). He also coordinated defenses at Southeast Missouri State (1988), Akron (2011) and most recently at New Mexico (2014-18).
New Mexico appeared in two bowl games during Cosgrove’s stay in Albuquerque, breaking a seven-year absence from the postseason after earning a selection to the Gildan New Mexico Bowl in 2015. The Lobos stayed home for their bowl game again a year later, defeating UTSA to cap a nine-win season, which marked their most since 2007 and their second-highest total in program history. New Mexico’s 16 victories during that two-year span also matched its most all-time in back-to-back seasons.
Cosgrove spent 14 seasons at Wisconsin (1990-03) under Barry Alvarez where he started his tenure as linebackers coach for five seasons before being promoted to defensive coordinator prior to the 1995 campaign. During that time, Wisconsin won three Big Ten titles (1993, 1998, 1999), all of which were followed by a victory in the Rose Bowl. Cosgrove’s time in Madison earned him an induction into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 2008.
Three of Cosgrove’s linebackers led the Big Ten in tackles on three different occasions, including Pete Monty, who remains Wisconsin’s all-time leader in career tackles after totaling 451 from 1993-96. Cosgrove’s time in Madison earned him an induction into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 2008.
A native of Chicago, Cosgrove began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Illinois from 1980-82 and transitioned to an assistant coach with the Fighting Illini from 1983-87. From there, he earned his first full-time position as the linebackers coach at Morehead State for the 1983 spring practices followed by five seasons in a similar role back at Illinois from 1983-87. He later accepted his first defensive coordinator position at Southeast Missouri State in 1988 and then moved to Colorado State as the Rams’ linebackers coach the following year.
Prior to his coaching career, Cosgrove played collegiately at Benedictine College (Ill.) in 1974 and at Wisconsin-Oshkosh from 1976-78 where he earned a bachelor’s of science in physical education in 1980.
Cosgrove and his wife, Shelly, are parents to two sons, Clint and Connor, and one daughter, Shannon.
