University of South Alabama Athletics

Mobile native Kelvin Sigler is in his second season at the University of South Alabama working with Jaguar cornerbacks.

Under his guidance last fall, Jalen Thompson finished his sophomore season ranked among the top 10 in the Sun Belt Conference in both interceptions and passses broken up per game while Jeremy Reaves was a first-team all-league selection  after playing the position for two-thirds of the season.  Sigler’s efforts helped the Jaguars not only rank in the top 10 nationally in pass defense but among the top five schools in the country in most improved scoring defense.

Prior to coming to South, he was as an assistant at Northern Illinois for three years.

While with the Huskies, Sigler worked with cornerbacks as NIU posted a 31-11 (73.8%) overall record and a 21-3 (87.5%) mark in the Mid-American Conference, earned three consecutive postseason bowl berths and claimed the 2014 league championship.  In 2015, his unit contributed to the Huskies’ conference-leading totals of 22 interceptions and 29 takeaways — both figures ranked among the top 10 in the nation — while his efforts helped Shawun Lurry, who led the country with nine interceptions, earn All-America recognition from five different organizations.

The previous season, Paris Logan was a first-team all-MAC selection under Sigler’s guidance and multiple true freshmen aided as NIU recorded 14 interceptions during an 11-3 campaign that saw the program claim the conference championship game with a 51-17 win over Bowling Green.  In his first season with the program, the Huskies picked off 19 passes while going 12-2 with an 8-0 record in Mid-American action.

In 2012, Sigler was on the defensive staff at Alabama as the Crimson Tide finished 13-1 and won the BCS National Championship Game with a 42-14 defeat of Notre Dame.

As head coach at Blount High from 2008-11, he led the Leopards to four straight state 6A playoffs appearances highlighted by a 10-2 finish in 2011 after earning a first-round victory — it was the school’s first 10-win season since the 1998 campaign.  BHS posted a 27-18 overall record during that span.

Sigler also has experience at two other high schools in the state after serving as defensive coordinator at Bob Jones HS from 2004-07 and as an assistant at Greensboro High the previous two years.  After going 3-7 his first season on the staff, BJHS bounced back to finish 7-5 and earn a win in the first round of the state 6A playoffs; the Patriots would go on to return to postseason action each of the next two falls as well.  His efforts also helped GHS make back-to-back state 4A playoff appearances.

Sigler lettered for four years at Alabama from 1995-98, helping the program to a 10-3 mark as a sophomore; the Tide played in the Southeastern Conference championship game that fall before going on to beat Michigan in the Outback Bowl.  He was also part of a squad that played in a bowl game his senior season, while Alabama went 8-3 his first year at the collegiate level.  During his career, Sigler intercepted six passes, led the team in tackles as a junior and was one of five permanent team captains his senior year.

A 2001 graduate of Alabama, he and his wife Gemini have five children: Yessman, Aubre, Kelvin Jr., Kelsie and Kailyn.

The Sigler File
Born: June 20, 1976, in Mobile, Ala.
Education: Alabama ’01, bachelor’s degree in human performance
Collegiate Playing Experience: Four years, defensive back, Alabama
Professional Playing Experience:
Tennessee Titans, NFL, 1999
Miami Dolphins, NFL, 2000
Birmingham Steeldogs, AF2, 2002
Coaching Experience:
Greensboro (Ala.) High — assistant coach 2002-03
Bob Jones (Ala.) High — assistant coach 2004-07
Blount (Ala.) High — head coach 2008-11
Alabama — staff assistant, 2012
Northern Illinois — assistant coach, 2013-15
South Alabama — assistant coach, 2016-
Family: Wife, Gemini; Three daughters, Aubre (13), Kelsie (7), and Kailyn (born Jan. 25) and two sons, Yessman (15) and Kelvin Jr. (8)