Georgia State University Athletics

Kevin Sherrer, a veteran coach with experience at the professional, collegiate and high school levels, is the defensive coordinator/linebackers coach on head coach Dell McGee's first Georgia State staff.
 
Sherrer previously worked with McGee on the Georgia staff for two seasons, including the Bulldogs' 2017 season that ended with a berth in the CFP National Championship game.
 
He comes to GSU after one season at Georgia Tech, where he served as linebackers coach/co-defensive coordinator before being elevated to defensive coordinator on Oct. 1, 2023.
 
Sherrer has excelled at every level of football, winning two national titles as a member of the staff at the University of Alabama as well as three high school state championships as an assistant coach in state of Alabama before coaching two seasons in the NFL as an assistant coach for the New York Giants. He served as the Giants' inside linebackers coach in 2020, then linebackers coach in ’21.
 
Prior to his two seasons in the NFL, Sherrer spent the previous five seasons coaching linebackers in the Southeastern Conference, first at Georgia (2014-17), then at Tennessee (2018-19). In his five seasons in the SEC, he coached seven linebackers that went on to be selected in the NFL Draft, including first-round picks Leonard Floyd (Georgia – 2016) and Roquan Smith (Georgia – 2018).
 
At Tennessee, he was the defensive coordinator in 2017, when the Vols jumped from 74 spots in the national statistical rankings in run defense. He served as UT’s special teams coordinator in 2018.
 
In four seasons at Georgia, he coached two All-Americans (Leonard Floyd and Roquan Smith), five all-SEC honorees and the 2017 Butkus Award winner in Smith. He helped coach one of the nation’s top defenses in 2017, when UGA ranked among the top 12 nationally in all four major defensive statistical categories – pass defense (second), scoring defense (t-third), total defense (fourth) and rushing defense (12th) – en route to the SEC championship and a berth in the national title game.
 
Before moving to the SEC, Sherrer spent one season as defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at South Alabama (2013), which ranked in the top three in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring (second), total (second), passing (second) and rushing (third) defense and was among the top 20 nationally in sacks (third) and tackles for loss (17th).
 
Sherrer’s first full-time position at the collegiate level came at his alma mater, Alabama, as director of player development from 2010-12. In his final two seasons at Alabama, the Crimson Tide won back-to-back national championships.
 
Prior to making the jump to the collegiate level, Sherrer established himself as one of the preeminent high school assistant coaches in the state of Alabama, with stints as a defensive assistant at Tuscaloosa County High School (1996-97), defensive backs coach at Spain Park High School (2001-04) and, most notably, a defensive assistant (2005-06) and defensive coordinator (2007-09) at state power Hoover High School. He won three Alabama 6A state championships during his time in the high school ranks – 1997 (Tuscaloosa County), 2005 (Hoover) and 2009 (Hoover).
 
Sherrer’s first coaching experience at the collegiate level came as a graduate assistant at Alabama from 1998-2000, which included an SEC championship in 1999.
 
As a player, Sherrer was a three-year letterwinner at tight end for Alabama from 1993-95, when he helped lead the Crimson Tide to 29 victories and two SEC West Division titles. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1996 and a master’s degree in higher education administration in 2000 from Alabama.
 
The Oneonta, Ala., native was inducted into the Blount County Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.
 
He and his wife, Carrie, have twin sons, Kaleb and Kyle.