Northern Illinois University Athletics

Richard McNutt, who has coached defensive backs at two Mid-American Conference schools, joined Dave Doeren[apos]s staff at Northern Illinois on January 27, 2011 as the Huskies[apos] cornerbacks coach.

In his first season on the staff, McNutt took the team[apos]s new starting corners, Jhony Faustin and Rashaan Melvin, under his wing. By the end of the season, the pair had accumulated five of the team[apos]s 13 interceptions, while Melvin led NIU in pass breakups. The Huskies return both cornerbacks, and its entire starting secondary, in 2012.

A former cornerback at Ohio State, McNutt has spent his entire career coaching defensive backs. He came to NIU after two seasons at Kent State, where the Golden Flashes boasted the No. 1 total defense in the MAC in 2010 and ranked second in the league in pass efficiency defense. McNutt was also involved with coaching the special teams units at Kent State.

He spent the 2008 football season on the staff of the Cleveland Browns, where he coached the safeties, assisted with the defensive backs and served as assistant special teams coach. The Browns ranked second in the NFL in interceptions with 23 that season. He went to Cleveland after one season as the secondary coach at the University of Toledo (2007) and spent the previous year as defensive backs coach at Virginia Military Institute (VMI).

A native of Park Forest, Ill., McNutt began his coaching career under his collegiate head coach, Jim Tressel, as a student assistant coach at Ohio State in 2003 after completing his playing career for the Buckeyes. During that time, he assisted with the cornerbacks and special teams and was a member of the staff that led OSU to an 11-2 record and a victory in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

Immediately after earning his undergraduate degree from Ohio State in 2004, McNutt began his coaching career as varsity defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator for the junior varsity team at Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pa. He helped the Presidents to a 12-1 record and the third round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs in 2004, as Washington & Jefferson ranked second in the nation with 26 interceptions. W&J posted a 9-2 record and advanced to the playoffs in 2005.

As a player, McNutt was on the Buckeyes teams that won the 2002 National Championship with a perfect 14-0 record. He was a three-year letterwinner for OSU and played in every game for Ohio State in both the 2000 and 2001 seasons; he started the first six games of 2002 at cornerback before he was sidelined by injury.

McNutt signed with Ohio State after a stellar prep career at Rich East High School in Park Forest, Ill. He was named one of the top five cornerback prospects in the country that year.

The McNutt Family

COACHING EXPERIENCE

POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE

PLAYING EXPERIENCE

EDUCATION

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