Kansas Coach Gill Announces First Hires for His Coaching Staff

Dec. 14, 2009

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas football head coach Turner Gill has announced that Chuck Long (Offensive Coordinator), Carl Torbush (Defensive Coordinator) and Aaron Stamn (Special Teams Coordinator/Tight Ends Coach) will become members of his coaching staff.

Chuck Long

Long, formerly the head coach at San Diego State (2006-08), has a successful track record as both a player and as a coach. Prior to his time at SDSU, he was an assistant coach at the University of Oklahoma for six seasons (2000-05), including four as the team’s offensive coordinator (2002-05). He was a finalist for the Broyles Award – given to the top assistant coach in college football – in 2004 after helping lead the Sooners to a Big 12 championship and an appearance in the BCS National Championship game. Prior to his time at OU, Long was an assistant coach at his alma mater, Iowa, coaching both the defensive backs (1995-97) and quarterbacks (1998-1999).

Long was a consensus first-team All-American and the Big Ten Player of the Year in 1985 at Iowa, when he led the Hawkeyes to a 10-2 record and their first Big Ten title in 27 years. That season, he finished runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, losing to Auburn’s Bo Jackson by just 35 points. He was drafted No. 12 overall by the Detroit Lions in the 1986 NFL Draft, and played five seasons with the Lions and Los Angeles Rams.

Carl Torbush

Torbush has been a head coach at both Louisiana Tech and North Carolina. This past season, Torbush served as the defensive coordinator at Mississippi State. He arrived at Mississippi State from his alma mater, Carson Newman, where he spent three seasons (2006-08) as assistant head coach and linebackers coach. During his time in Jefferson City, Tenn., the Eagles posted a record of 25-8, including a 10-1 mark in 2007.

Before returning to his alma mater in 2006, Torbush served for five seasons as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Alabama and Texas A&M under head coach Dennis Franchione. His 2001 Alabama defensive unit led the Southeastern Conference and ranked third nationally allowing only 257.3 yards per game. He was the head coach at North Carolina from 1997-2000, where he led the Tar Heels to a pair of bowl victories. He also served as a head coach at Louisiana Tech for one season (1987).

Aaron Stamn

Stamn coached under Gill at Buffalo for four seasons, serving as the offensive line coach this past year. In the previous three seasons at UB, Stamn was the team’s special teams coordinator/tight ends coach – the position he will be filling at KU. Prior to his time at UB, Stamn spent two seasons at Nebraska as a defensive assistant, working with Huskers’ defensive line with coach John Blake, and helping that unit lead the nation with 50 sacks in 2005 and an Alamo Bowl victory win over Michigan.

Gill was named head coach at the University of Kansas on Monday.