Former Tennessee assistant coach and longtime football coach Mike DeBord passed away at the age of 69 on Tuesday, according to a report from Angelique Chengelis of The Detroit News. Chengelis’s report states that DeBord died “from complications due to a stroke he suffered in 2021.”
Very sad news — Mike DeBord, former Michigan offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, has died according to his son.
— angelique (@chengelis) April 15, 2025
A journeyman across the football landscape, DeBord coached at Tennessee under Butch Jones as the offensive coordinator and quarterback’s coach in 2015 and 2016. DeBord replaced Mike Bajakian after his departure for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, reuniting with Jones from a stint at Central Michigan from 2000 to 2003.
DeBord left Tennessee following the 2016 season to become the offensive coordinator at Indiana.
The Muncie, Indiana, native began his football career as a four-year starting offensive lineman for Manchester College and then quickly moved into the coaching world. DeBord began with assistant coaching roles at Franklin, Fort Hays State, and Eastern Illinois before moving to Ball State, Colorado State, and Northwestern. These moves were all taking place in the 80s and early 90s. By 1993, DeBord had become the offensive line coach at Michigan and was eventually promoted to the offensive coordinator position. In 2000, DeBord was brought on as the head coach at Central Michigan, the lone head coaching position in his collegiate career.
After resigning from Central Michigan in 2003, DeBord continued on with numerous assistant roles at the collegiate and professional levels, including two more stints at Michigan, the Seattle Seahawks, the Chicago Bears, the San Diego Fleet, and Tennessee. The final job that DeBord held prior to his passing was an offensive coordinator job with Kansas under Les Miles, though it never got off the ground. DeBord was hired in February 2021, but Miles and his staff were let go that March and incoming head coach Lance Leipold did not retain DeBord’s services.
“The world lost a great man today,” Tyler DeBord, Mike’s son, wrote in a Facebook post, according to Chengelis of The Detroit Free Press. “He taught me so much in life, I am so grateful the good Lord blessed me with the best dad! He was a man of faith, an unbelievable dad, husband, grandpa, and man! For all his successes in life, he always stuck to his small town roots and never forgot where he came from. He had a great sense of faith, work ethic, love for family, football, and life. His loss will be felt by many because of the impact he had on everyone he touched. He loved fiercely, and we loved him!”
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Some of DeBord’s biggest wins at Tennessee included a 38-31 comeback victory over Georgia, a 45-6 beatdown of Northwestern in the Outback Bowl, a comeback 38-28 win over Florida, the 34-31 Hail Mary against Georgia, and a 63-37 win over Missouri. Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs was DeBord’s signal caller during his two years on Rocky Top. Dobbs threw for 2,291 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2015 and 2,946 yards and 27 touchdowns in 2016. The Georgia native also added 23 touchdowns on the ground in those two seasons.
“The University of Tennessee has hired a great offensive coordinator in Mike DeBord,” former NFL quarterback Tom Brady said at the time of DeBord’s hiring, according to UTSports. “Mike was my offensive coordinator in college and helped me develop as a quarterback. He has great knowledge in offensive football and quarterback development, and he will do an outstanding job at Tennessee.”
Mike DeBord was 69 years old at his passing on Tuesday.
