Harland Bower is starting his third season at the University of South Alabama as the program’s defensive line coach.
During the 2018 campaign he helped the trio of Tyree Turner, Jordon Beaton and Jeremiah Littles combine to post 20 tackles for loss — including 8½ sacks — as the Jaguars finished among the top half of the Sun Belt Conference in the category. Thanks to his efforts, Turner was voted second-team all-league after ranking among the top 10 in stops behind the line per outing while Beaton received honorable mention all-conference recognition.
The Jags once again had multiple members of Bower’s unit earn all-Sun Belt accolades last year, with Jeffery Whatley a second-team all-league pick and Sean Brown an honorable mention selection. Under his direction, Whatley ranked second in the conference with 1.21 tackles for loss per game — his 14½ total were the third-highest season total in school history — and shared the team lead after both he and Rocel McWilliams were credited with 4½ sacks apiece, while Brown ended up with career-high figures after posting 28 total stops and three tackles behind the line.
Bower joined South’s coaching staff after serving two years as a defensive graduate assistant at Notre Dame, where in his second season with the program the Fighting Irish finished with a 10-3 record and were 11th in both final national polls after earning a 21-17 victory over Louisiana State in the Citrus Bowl.
Before going to Notre Dame, Bower served two years as the outside linebackers coach at Central Arkansas on the staff of first-year USA head coach Steve Campbell; his efforts there helped the Bears go 7-4 his second season, which included a 7-2 record in the league. He worked with future All-American and first-team all-Southland Conference selection George Odum, also aiding in the development of future first-team all-league honoree Chris Chambers.
Bower was a graduate assistant on the staff at Troy during the 2013 campaign, while the previous fall he served as a quality control coach at Rutgers. During the 2011 season he was an assistant defensive line and assistant strength and conditioning coach at Murray State after beginning his coaching career as an assistant at Georgia Military College the year before.
After beginning his collegiate playing career at Central Michigan in 2005, Bower transferred to Georgia Southern where he was credited with 56 tackles while earning four letters; that included being elected a team captain when he was a senior. He received a bachelor’s degree in general studies with minors in coaching, criminal justice and psychology from the school in 2009.
Bower — who is originally from Edison, N.J. — is married to the former Lauren Leigh Haines. The couple’s first child, daughter Savannah, was born in February.
The Bower File
Born: April 4, 1988, in Edison, N.J.
Education: Georgia Southern ’09, bachelor’s degree in general studies (coaching, criminal justice and psychology minors)
Collegiate Playing Experience: Four years, defensive line, Georgia Southern
Coaching Experience:
Georgia Military College — assistant coach/assistant strength & conditioning coach, 2010
Murray State — assistant coach/assistant strength & conditioning coach, 2011
Rutgers — quality control coach, 2012
Troy — graduate assistant coach, 2013
Central Arkansas — assistant coach, 2014-15
Notre Dame — graduate assistant coach, 2016-17
South Alabama — assistant coach, 2018-
Family: Wife, Lauren Leigh; one daughter, Savannah (born Feb. 13)
