Brian Landis was hired to UWG’s first Division I football staff prior to the 2024 season, and was named Defensive Coordinator by head coach Joel Taylor.
Landis comes to Carrollton after four seasons on staff at nearby Georgia State, where his time ended with him as inside linebackers coach. In 2020 and 2021, Landis was part of back-to-back bowl wins for the Panthers.
The 2021 season saw two inside linebackers under Landis’ tutelage, Blake Carroll and Jordan Veneziale, warn All-Sun Belt honors and the defense set GSU school records in sacks (38) and tackles for loss (92) while GSU held opponents to 141.4 rushing yards per game which was third-best in program history.
His first season in Atlanta saw the Panther defense rank top-10 in FBS in sacks and turnovers forced while Carroll was an All-SBC selection alongside senior Trajan Stephens-McQueen.
Landis’ stint at GSU was a return to the collegiate ranks after he was the head coach at Frederick Douglass High school in Lexington, Kentucky. In three seasons there, Landis’ teams went 35-5 after starting the program from scratch in 2017. His stint there culminated with a 14-1 record in 2019 and a berth in the Class 5A State Finals.
Prior to his time at FDHS, Landis was on the staff at Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky following a 10-year stint at his alma mater, Georgetown.
Landis coached the Georgetown defensive backs from 2006-14 and also served as the Tigers’ recruiting coordinator from 2010-14. During that time, he helped Georgetown to four conference titles and NAIA playoff appearances, including a No. 1 national ranking during the 2012 season.
Landis enjoyed a standout playing career at Georgetown, culminating with a senior season in which he captained the Tigers’ to the 2000 NAIA title team and was named the Defensive Player of the Game for the championship. The following year he served as a graduate assistant coach as Georgetown won its second straight NAIA championship.
He had a brief professional career in arena football before returning to Georgetown as assistant linebackers and special teams coach in 2004, when the Tigers reached the NAIA national semifinals.
Landis graduated from Georgetown in 2001 with a B.S. degree in business administration, and he completed his master’s in special education in 2006.
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Landis and his wife Ashley have two sons, Park and Jack.
