Karl Dorrell enters his first season at Vanderbilt as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
With 26 years of coaching experience at the college and professional level, Dorrell brings a strong pedigree with him to the Southeastern Conference.
A former head coach at UCLA from 2003-07 where he was named the 2005 Pac-10 Conference Co-Coach of the Year, Dorrell has spent the previous six seasons in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans. His last two seasons were in Houston where he coached the quarterbacks.
In addition to having head coaching experience, Dorrell has seven years of experience as an offensive coordinator at the collegiate level. He was the offensive coordinator at Washington in 1999 and also served in the same capacity at Colorado (1995-98) and Northern Arizona (1990-91).
Dorrell has coached on the collegiate level for 17 years and has been on the staffs of 12 teams that enjoyed postseason appearances.
In his two seasons with the Houston Texans, Dorrell helped the team reach the playoffs in 2012, where he tutored quarterback Matt Schaub to his second career Pro Bowl. Schaub tossed for 4,008 yards and completed 64.3 percent of his passes in 2012 for his highest completion percentage since 2009.
In 2011, Dorrell mentored Dolphins quarterback Matt Moore to a career season. Moore took over the reins in Week 5 and set career highs in completions, attempts, yards and touchdowns. Moore ranked fourth among AFC quarterbacks with an 88.7 passer rating.
From 2008-10, Dorrell was the wide receivers coach with the Dolphins. In that role, Dorrell saw Brandon Marshall and Davone Bess combine for the fourth-most receptions of any duo in the NFL. Bess had 209 receptions from 2008-10, the most by any Dolphins player in his first three years with the team.
Before returning to the NFL, Dorrell coached UCLA for five years, guiding the Bruins to five bowl games and an overall record of 35-27. In 2005, Dorrell led UCLA to a 10-2 record and No. 13 national ranking in the USA Today Coaches[apos] Poll. That same season, the Bruins defeated two ranked opponents, No. 21 Oklahoma and No. 10 California.
The 2005 squad was led by quarterback Drew Olson and running back Maurice Jones-Drew, who helped the Bruins rank No. 5 nationally in scoring offense (39.1) and No. 23 in both passing offense (270.3) and total offense (431.0).
Dorrell[apos]s first full-time stint in the NFL came from 2000-02 when he served as the wide receivers coach for the Denver Broncos. While with the Broncos, Dorrell helped Rod Smith eclipse 1,000 yards receiving three times, while earning two Pro Bowl selections. In 2000, Ed McCaffrey posted 101 receptions for 1,317 yards and combined with Smith to become only the second wide receiver duo to each catch 100 passes in a single season.
Dorrell received his full-time opportunity with the Broncos after working with the staff during training camp in 1993 and 1999 as part of the NFL[apos]s Minority Coaching Fellowship program.
A native of San Diego, Calif., Dorrell began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at UCLA in 1988. His first full-time position was as wide receivers coach at Central Florida in 1989. Dorrell also coached at Northern Arizona as offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach from 1990-91. Dorrell directed the Lumberjacks to a school record for first downs in a season and the second-highest total offense figure in a season.
Dorrell coached wide receivers at Colorado from 1992-93 and Arizona State in 1994 before returning to Colorado to serve as offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach of the Buffaloes from 1995-98. While in Colorado, Dorrell helped Charles Johnson and Michael Westbrook become just the fourth pair of receivers on the same team to top 1,000 yards in a season. Dorrell also served as offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at Washington in 1999.
A graduate of UCLA in 1986, Dorrell played wide receiver for the Bruins from 1982-86, where he helped lead the team to three Rose Bowls. Dorrell had a brief NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys in 1987. As a youth, he was an honorable mention All-America receiver at Helix High School in San Diego.
Dorrell and his wife, Kim, have two children, Chandler and Lauren.
Dorrell[apos]s Coaching Career
2014 – Vanderbilt – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach
2012-13 – Houston Texans – Quarterbacks Coach
2011 – Miami Dolphins – Quarterbacks Coach
2008-10 – Miami Dolphins – Wide Receivers Coach
2003-07 – UCLA – Head Coach
2000-02 – Denver Broncos – Wide Receivers Coach
1999 – Washington – Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers
1995-98 – Colorado – Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers
1994 – Arizona State – Wide Receivers Coach
1992-93 – Colorado State – Wide Receivers Coach
1990-91 – Northern Arizona – Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach
1989 – Central Florida- Wide Receivers Coach