31 Facts About Ron Zook

Ronald Andrew Zook is an American football coach who is a special teams quality control coach at the University of Maryland.

Ron Zook has worked as an assistant coach in the National Football League with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs, and New Orleans Saints.

Ron Zook was employed as the special teams coach for the Green Bay Packers.

Ronald Andrew Zook was born in Ashland, Ohio and raised in nearby Loudonville.

At Loudonville High School, Ron Zook played basketball, track, and football.

However, Ron Zook wanted to play Division I football, so he decided to walk on at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Ron Zook made the team, and by his senior season, Zook was a starting defensive back and a co-captain for the Miami Redskins.

Ron Zook graduated with a bachelor's degree in comprehensive science in 1976.

Ron Zook started coaching football immediately upon graduating from college, beginning his career in 1976 as the defensive backs coach at Orrville High School in Orrville, Ohio under head coach Mo Tipton.

In 1978, Ron Zook began his college football coaching career when he became a graduate assistant at Murray State University.

Florida defensive coordinator Bobby Pruett left to become the head coach at Marshall University in January 1995 and Ron Zook was promoted to take his place, becoming Florida's defensive coordinator .

Many fraternity houses hung banners from week to week either praising Ron Zook or calling for his firing.

Ron Zook did not beat a ranked opponent at home during his time at Florida.

Ron Zook did not help his cause by getting into a heated argument with several fraternity members a few weeks earlier after being called in to defuse a dispute between the brothers and his players.

Ron Zook finished the regular season, but he did not coach the Gators in the Peach Bowl because he had already accepted the head coaching job at Illinois.

Ron Zook handed both the 2002 Georgia Bulldogs and 2003 LSU Tigers their only loss of the year.

Ron Zook's Gators defeated three highly ranked teams in succession in 2003, all away from home.

Ron Zook had winning records against SEC foes Georgia and Auburn.

Ron Zook was regarded as a fine recruiter who brought a great deal of talent to Florida during his tenure as head coach.

Ron Zook inherited a program which had become a disaster since winning the Big Ten championship in 2001.

In late 2006, Ron Zook signed Arrelious Benn, one of the top wide receiver prospects in the 2007 class.

Ron Zook's recruiting success finally began to pay dividends during the 2007 season.

Ron Zook's success earned Zook a contract extension in October 2007, which paid him approximately $1.5 million through the 2013 season.

On November 20,2007, Ron Zook was selected as the Big Ten Coach of the Year.

Ron Zook was awarded the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award following the 2007 season.

In 2014, Ron Zook was hired by the Green Bay Packers to the position of assistant special teams coordinator.

Ron Zook was not retained by the team after the 2018 season.

On February 28,2019, Ron Zook joined the Salt Lake Stallions of the Alliance of American Football as special teams coordinator and secondary coach.

Ron Zook was promoted to special teams coordinator in 2021 before stepping down after one season.

In 2024, Ron Zook was rehired by Locksley as a special teams quality control coach.

In June 2021, Ron Zook was announced as the defensive coordinator under Jim Haslett in the XFL.