Kiel McDonald

Kiel McDonald
Los Angeles Chargers
Position:	Running backs coach
Personal information
Born:	April 22, 1983 (age 43); Milpitas, California, U.S.
Career information
High school:	Doherty (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
College:	Sacramento City (2002–2003); Arizona (2004); Sacramento State (2005); Idaho (2006)
Undrafted:	2007
Career history
As coach:
	Gunderson High School (2009); Assistant coach; San Jose City College (2010); Defensive backs & strength coach; Arizona State (2011); Graduate assistant offensive quality control coach; Eastern Washington (2012–2016); Running backs coach; Utah (2017–2021); Running backs coach; USC (2022–2023); Running backs coach; Los Angeles Chargers (2024–present); Running backs coach;

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Kiel McDonald (born April 22, 1983) is an American football coach who is currently the running backs coach for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL).

Early life and playing career

McDonald was born in Milpitas, California, and attended Thomas B. Doherty High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he was a four-sport letterman in football, hockey, baseball, and track. He began his collegiate playing career as a cornerback at Sacramento City College from 2002 to 2003, earning All-NorCal Conference honorable mention as a sophomore. In 2004, he played two games at Arizona before an injury ended his season. He transferred to Sacramento State in 2005, where he earned Big Sky All-Academic honors, and then to Idaho in 2006, recording 31 tackles, five pass breakups, and one interception. McDonald earned a bachelor's degree in business communication from Sacramento State in 2006.

Coaching career

Following his playing career, McDonald began coaching at Gunderson High School in San Jose, California. In 2010, he served as the defensive backs and strength coach at San Jose City College and interned with the San Francisco 49ers, assisting with the secondary. In 2011, he worked as a graduate assistant offensive quality control coach at Arizona State.

Eastern Washington

From 2012 to 2016, McDonald was the running backs coach and co-special teams coordinator at Eastern Washington.^[1] He significantly improved the team's rushing offense, increasing the average to 183.7 yards per game by his second season. During his tenure, the Eagles made four FCS playoff appearances, advancing to the national semifinals in 2012, 2013, and 2016.

Utah

McDonald joined Utah as the running backs coach in 2017.^[2] Under his guidance, the Utes led the Pac-12 in rushing in 2021, with Tavion Thomas rushing for over 1,000 yards and setting a single-season school record with 21 rushing touchdowns. In 2019, he coached Zack Moss to his third consecutive 1,000-yard season; Moss earned first-team All-American honors and was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year. McDonald also coached Ty Jordan, who was named Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year in 2020.

USC

In 2022, McDonald became the running backs coach at USC.^[3] In his first season, he coached Travis Dye to second-team All-Pac-12 honors after rushing for 844 yards and nine touchdowns. In 2023, he coached Austin Jones, who received honorable mention All-Pac-12 recognition.

Los Angeles Chargers

On February 23, 2024, McDonald was hired as the running backs coach for the Los Angeles Chargers under head coach Jim Harbaugh.^[4] In his first season, the Chargers achieved an 11–6 record and made a playoff appearance.

References

↑ Allen, Jim (April 3, 2012). "EWU hired running backs coach". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
↑ "Utah hires Eastern Washington's Kiel McDonald as running backs coach". ESPN. January 17, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
↑ Wallace, Allen (January 2, 2022). "USC's New RB Coach, Kiel McDonald?". trojandailyblog.com. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
↑ "Los Angeles Chargers Hire Kiel McDonald as Running Backs Coach". chargers.com. February 23, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2025.

External links

Template:NFL running back coaches

This article "Kiel McDonald" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Kiel McDonald. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

[1] Allen, Jim (April 3, 2012). "EWU hired running backs coach". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved May 23, 2025.

[2] "Utah hires Eastern Washington's Kiel McDonald as running backs coach". ESPN. January 17, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2025.

[3] Wallace, Allen (January 2, 2022). "USC's New RB Coach, Kiel McDonald?". trojandailyblog.com. Retrieved May 23, 2025.

[4] "Los Angeles Chargers Hire Kiel McDonald as Running Backs Coach". chargers.com. February 23, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2025.

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