Corey Batoon enters his second year as the defensive coordinator for South Alabama after a year in which he was named as a Broyles Award Nominee in 2021 after the the team allowed the fewest rushing and total offense yards since the program moved up to the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level in 2012. They also matched school season records with 15 interceptions and 25 total takeaways while recording the second-highest sack total in program history as well
He also works with the Jaguars’ safeties, the same position group he guided for the Flames in 2020 as they finished 10-1 overall — including earning wins at Virginia Tech and Syracuse before capping the season by defeating Coastal Carolina in the FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl —to end up in the top 20 of both the final Associated Press and coaches’ polls.  In his only season with the program, Batoon helped LU rank among the top 25 in the country in total defense (317.7 ypg, 11th), passing yards allowed (184.9 ypg, 12th), third-down conversion defense (31.9%, 14th), scoring defense (20.5 ppg, 22nd) and interceptions (11, 23rd).
Prior to joining the staff at LU, Batoon was the defensive coordinator and safeties coach for two years at Hawai’i.  In his first season with the program the Rainbow Warriors finished 8-6 after earning a bid to the Hawai’i Bowl, with UH improving to 10-5 in 2019 as the team won the Mountain West Conference West Division title and earned a berth in the league championship game before going on to defeat BYU in the Sofi Hawai’i Bowl.  During those two seasons, seven individuals garnered all-Mountain West recognition.
Batoon served as co-defensive coordinator — working with both safeties and special teams — at Florida Atlantic in 2017, helping engineer one of the biggest improvements in the nation after the Owls finished 11-3 following wins in the Conference USA championship game and the Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl; that included beating Akron 50-3 in the latter contest.  Following the season, nine members of FAU’s defense earned all-Conference USA honors including a pair of safeties who were named first-team all-league, while all three of the team’s specialists were honorable mention all-conference.
He was on the staff at Ole Miss for five years prior to his stint at FAU, first as Assistant AD for both player development and recruiting operations/defensive assistant from 2012-14 before serving as an assistant coach working with safeties and special teams coordinator for two seasons.  During his time with the program, the Rebels participated in four postseason bowl games — highlighted by a victory over No. 16 Oklahoma State in the 2016 Sugar Bowl — while finishing among the top 15 in the final recruiting rankings four straight years.  His efforts helped a pair of defensive backs pick up all-Southeastern Conference from multiple organizations in 2015 while the Rebels’ placekicker and kick returner were honored by several media outlets the following fall.
Batoon worked with defensive backs and special teams at Arkansas State from 2009-11, where in his last season the Red Wolves posted their first-ever 10 win season after claiming the Sun Belt Conference title and earning a bid to the GoDaddy.com Bowl.
He began his career as an assistant coach at Pierce (Calif.) J.C. (1991-92), going on to coach at St. Mary’s (1993-95) and Central Missouri State (1996) before making the move to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision.  After a year at Montana (1997), Batoon was the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Northern Arizona from 1998-08, during which time the Lumberjacks qualified for the playoffs on three occasions — highlighted by a quarterfinal appearance during the 2003 campaign — and won two Big Sky Conference titles.
Batoon is a graduate of Long Beach State, where he played football for two seasons before earning his degree in political science in 1991.  He would go on to add a master’s degree in health and physical education and recreation in 1996 from St. Mary’s.  Batoon and his wife Stacy have two daughters, Brandy and Summer.
The Batoon File
Born: Oct. 1, 1968, in Honolulu, Hawai’i
Education:
Long Beach State ’91, bachelor’s degree in political science
Saint Mary’s (Calif.) ’96, master’s degree in health and physical education and recreation
Collegiate Playing Experience:
Two years, safety, San Diego J.C., 1986-87
Two years, safety, Long Beach State, 1988-89
Coaching Experience:
Pierce (Calif.) J.C. — assistant coach, 1991-92
Saint Mary’s (Calif.) — assistant coach, 1993-95
Central Missouri State — assistant coach, 1996
Montana — assistant coach, 1997
Northern Arizona — assistant head coach, 1998-08
Arkansas State — assistant coach, 2009-11
Ole Miss — Assistant AD for Player Development, 2012 ; Assistant AD for Recruiting Operations/Def. Asst, 2013-14;Â
  assistant coach, 2015-16
Florida Atlantic — assistant coach, 2017
Hawai’i — assistant coach, 2018-19
Liberty — assistant coach, 2020
South Alabama — assistant coach, 2021-
Family: Wife, Stacy; Two daughters, Brandy (25) and Summer (22)
