For Bret Ingalls, a 36-year coaching veteran who has extensive collegiate and professional experience, the 2020 season is his third with the Vanderbilt football team. He assists Commodore offensive coordinator Todd Fitch as a senior analyst.
Ingalls joined the Commodores after serving the 2016-17 seasons at Florida as an offensive analyst under head coach Jim McElwain.
For a seven-year period before joining Florida, Ingalls was a valuable member of the New Orleans Saints’ NFL coaching staff. He was hired by the Saints in 2009 as running backs coach, helping direct the standout trio of Reggie Bush, Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell. That season, the Saints went 13-3 in the regular season and eventually claimed their only championship title in Super Bowl XLIV.
The 2009 Saints offense was the NFL’s most productive unit. Its rushing attack ranked sixth in the NFL.
In 2013, Ingalls was named New Orleans’ offensive line coach, continuing in that role through 2015. His final Saints’ offensive front was regarded among the best in the NFL.
Prior to joining the Saints, Ingalls served as offensive line coach at Northwestern from 2006-08. Ingalls’ offensive line at Northwestern showed improvement through his tenure in Evanston. By 2008, the Wildcats went 9-4 overall, advancing to the Alamo Bowl.
The Wildcat offense during Ingalls’ tenure featured an offensive line blocking for running back Tyrell Sutton, who finished his Northwestern career with 3.886 rushing yards and 5,138 all-purpose yards.
Ingalls served as offensive line and tight ends coach at Indiana State in 2004 and Miami (Ohio) in 2005.
From 1995-2003, Ingalls served as offensive coordinator at three universities: Louisville, Northern Iowa and Idaho.
He started his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant at Idaho, then became an offensive coach at San Diego State (1989-93) and Eastern Michigan (1994) before joining Louisville in 1995 as offensive coordinator.
Ingalls has worked with several stellar head coaches, including Sean Payton at New Orleans, Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern, and Tom Cable, Keith Gilbertson and Dennis Erickson at Idaho.
A native of San Jose, California, Ingalls attended Colorado, then transferred to Wichita State, where he played running back.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from Idaho in 1984.
Ingalls and his wife, Diana, are the parents of three children: Samuel, Jack and Breana.