Coach Fuller
Leon Fuller is one of the most important defensive architects in Texas Longhorns football history, best known for his two stints as UT’s defensive coordinator and his long, winding coaching career across college and the NFL.
William Graham (1979 -1981) says of Coach Fuller he “taught us how to study the game. “ “Coach Fuller knew how to reach us. He could take a player wherever he was and help him understand so that when he walked on the field, he had no doubt about what he needed to do or his ability to do it.”
Bum Phillips said “Fuller was the best football player I ever had at any level.” That would include Earl Campbell.
3 times his defenses led the SWC. 21 of his players were drafted in the NFL. In 1981 Fuller’s defense was the nation’s second best. 1982 he was the head coach for Colorado State, but returned to Texas as defensive coordinator in 1989.
🧡 Concise takeaway
Leon Fuller (born July 28, 1938) is a former American football coach from Nederland, Texas, widely regarded as one of the best defensive coaches the University of Texas ever had.
2. Leon Fuller 1977-1981 and 1989-1993
Arriving in Austin with Fred Akers, Fuller replaced the legendary coach Mike Campbell and quickly became a fan favorite as he coached the likes of Steve McMichael, Kenneth Sims, Doug Shankle and Johnnie Johnson. He left Texas to become the head coach of Colorado State, where he went 25-88 in seven seasons. He returned to Texas to become the defensive coordinator under David McWilliams, who he worked with in his previous stint, and the “Shock the Nation” 1990 season, his defense helped Texas to a 10-2 season. He stayed on as defensive coordinator under John Mackovic in 1993, but Fuller left after one season to become the defensive backs coach for the Denver Broncos.
Fuller then returned to Austin, but not as defensive coordinator. After Denver, he took a job as the head coach of the Llano High School football team. He left Llano to become the athletic director of the Austin Independent School District, where he worked for eight years and retired in 2004. He later served as the athletic director of Ector County school district in Odessa.
Robert Leon Fuller is a former American football coach.
Leon Fuller served as head coach of the Colorado State college football program from 1982 to 1988.
Leon Fuller grew up in Nederland, Texas, where he attended high school and played football for Bum Phillips.
Leon Fuller was awarded a scholarship and immediately became the team’s most valuable player.
Leon Fuller was named All-Texas Junior College and NJCAA All-American.
Leon Fuller continued his coaching career with stints at the University of Kentucky and the University of New Mexico.
In 1977 Leon Fuller followed Akers to the University of Texas at Austin.
Leon Fuller instantly became a favorite among Texas fans and alumni, as his defensive units frequently ranked among the nation’s best.
In 1982, Leon Fuller got his first head coaching job, replacing interim coach Chester Caddas at Colorado State University.
Leon Fuller then returned to Texas, replacing Paul Jette as Longhorns defensive coordinator for head coach David McWilliams.
When John Mackovic replaced McWilliams as Longhorns head coach in 1992, Leon Fuller remained in that position as one of the only two coaches to stay and not have been fired.
Two seasons later however, Mackovic fired Leon Fuller, citing a difference of philosophy and strained relationship between the two as his reason.
Leon Fuller then retired from coaching and left Llano to take over as athletic director at the Austin Independent School District.
Leon Fuller came out of retirement in 2007 to replace Gary Gaines as athletic director of the Ector County Independent School District, and then hired him as head coach.
🏈 Who Leon Fuller is
- Full name: Robert Leon Fuller
- Born: July 28, 1938, Nederland, Texas
- Playing career:
- Tyler Junior College (1956–1958)
- Alabama (1959–1960), playing halfback and defensive back under Bear Bryant
- Earned All-SEC, NJCAA All-American, and played in the Senior Bowl
🧠 Why Texas fans remember him
Fuller served two major stints as defensive coordinator for the Longhorns:
1️⃣ 1977–1981 — Fred Akers era
- Followed Akers from Wyoming to Texas
- His defenses routinely ranked among the nation’s best
- Became a fan favorite for tough, disciplined units
2️⃣ 1989–1993 — David McWilliams & early John Mackovic era
- Returned to UT after his head coaching run at Colorado State
- One of only two assistants retained when Mackovic took over
- Eventually dismissed due to “difference of philosophy” with Mackovic
Texas insiders consistently describe him as one of the finest defensive minds ever to coach at UT.
🐏 Colorado State head coach (1982–1988)
Fuller’s lone college head coaching job:
- Record: 25–55
- Seven seasons
- Fired after a 1–10 season in 1988
🏈 NFL & later career
- Denver Broncos defensive backs coach (1994) under Wade Phillips
- Llano High School head coach & athletic director (1995) — led them to a 9–2 season before retiring from coaching
- Later became athletic director for Austin ISD
John Haines You played under two excellent defensive coordinators in Leon Fuller and David McWilliams. How would you compare or contrast their coaching styles?
JOHN: Leon Fuller was the coordinator for most of my time at Texas. Leon was a great intense teacher with a dry sense of humor.
