Chris Bowers is in his first season as Associate Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator for Sul Ross State football. He will also be in charge of coaching the linebackers.
Bowers has spent the last four years as the defensive coordinator at Bucknell. He helped in the development of seven All-Patriot League selections.
Bowers got his coaching start as Findlay. He was a graduate assistant coach (2001) and a defensive assistant coach (2002).
Bowers was an assistant director of football operations (2003-04) and a defensive graduate assistant (2005-06) at Northwestern. He worked closely with linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator Pat Fitzgerald, now head coach at Michigan State. In 2005, the Wildcats signed one of their top recruiting classes at the time, a group that featured seven players who went on to compete at the professional level. They also played in the 2003 Motor City Bowl and the 2005 Vitalis Sun Bowl.
Bowers was defensive coordinator, recruiting coordinator and secondary coach at Defiance (2007-08). There, he worked with five All-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) honorees who were key pieces of a defense that allowed just 20.4 points and 327 yards per game during his time with the Yellow Jackets. Overall, Bowers helped in the development of 11 All-HCAC selections.
Bowers was defensive coordinator and secondary coach at Concord (2009-10). He mentored seven all-conference selections who helped the Mountain Lions finish 10th among NCAA Division II programs with 31 takeaways. Notably, Concord went from 0-11 in 2008 to 6-5 in 2009, its first winning season in 11 years. The next season, the Mountain Lions posted an 8-3 record, the program's best since 1991.
Bowers spent the spring of 2011 at Valparaiso as a special teams coordinator and secondary coach.
Bowers was the head of recruiting and director of player personnel at Northwestern (2011-18). He helped build the roster that won the 2018 Big Ten Conference West Division title and was ranked No. 1 in the FBS in graduate success rate.
In addition, the Wildcats won 40 games over four seasons, a program record. They played in six different bowl games during Bowers's time with the program: the 2011 Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas, the 2013 TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl, the 2016 Outback Bowl, the 2016 Pinstripe Bowl, the 2017 Music City Bowl and the 2018 Holiday Bowl.
While at Northwestern, Bowers was a finalist for the 2016 FootballScoop.com Director of Player Personnel of the Year award. He helped recruit Rashawn Slater and Greg Newsome II, the program's first NFL first-round draft picks since 2005. In total, 16 Wildcats he recruited are currently on NFL active rosters.
Bowers was the defensive coordinator at Eastern Illinois (2019-21), where he mentored four freshman All-Americans. During his final season in Charleston, Ill., the Panthers placed eighth in the FCS in passing defense (171.5) and had five defensive players earn All-Ohio Valley Conference accolades. Linebacker Jason Johnson, a two-time First Team honoree, led the FCS in fumble recoveries (4) and finished tied for ninth in solo tackles per game (5.7).
Eastern Illinois was among the Ohio Valley Conference's top defenses in 2021, finishing first in passing defense, tackles for a loss, sacks and fumbles recovered and second in total defense and red zone defense. In 2019, Bowers's first campaign in Charleston, the program was the second-most-improved defense in the FCS ranks.
Off the field, Bowers was published in the Manual of Football Drills and Skills, a resource for coaches which benefits Lauren's First and Goal Foundation. The organization was established in 2004 by John and Marianne Loose in honor of their daughter Lauren, a pediatric brain tumor survivor. It has raised more than $1 million in financial support for brain tumor research and cancer services.
Bowers has a bachelor's degree in history from Wittenberg and a master's degree in education from Findlay.
Bowers and his wife, Christina, have two children: Davalyn and Joe
