Brendan Flaherty joined the Vanderbilt coaching staff in February of 2021 and currently serves as tight ends coach. He initially served as a quality control assistant, working primarily with the offense, before being named an analyst for the offense in 2022.
In 2024, Flaherty helped tight end Eli Stowers become Vanderbilt’s first first-team All-SEC selection from the offensive side of the ball in over a decade, while also helping Cole Spence return from injury to make 10 catches for 101 yards and a pair of scores.
Stowers paced Vandy in receiving with 49 catches for 638 yards and five touchdowns. The 638 receiving yards were the second-most by a Vanderbilt tight end since 1996. In Vandy’s win over No. 1 Alabama, he became just the sixth tight end since 1996 to eclipse 100 receiving yards against the Tide (Ja’Tavion Sanders, Brock Bowers, Kyle Pitts, Kenny Yeboah and Evan Engram).
In Stowers’ first season at Vanderbilt, it was also his first season in the tight end group. The former quarterback transitioned to tight end in 2023 at New Mexico State, but remained in the QB room during the season under the direction of offensive coordinator Tim Beck and then-head coach Jerry Kill. Stowers leaned on his past experience in 2024, completing a touchdown pass to Spence against Alcorn State.
Stowers was voted first-team all-conference by the league’s coaches and chosen second team by the Associated Press. He was also a semifinalist for the Mackey Award and a midseason addition to the Biletnikoff Watch List.
Flaherty arrived in Nashville from Boston College, where he spent the 2019-20 seasons. He served the Eagles as a graduate assistant with the defensive line. In 2019, the Eagles finished No. 4 in the ACC in tackles for loss with 101. Defensive end Marcus Valdez was second on the team with 7.5 tackles, while Tanner Karafa and T.J. Rayam finished tied for third on the team with 6.5 each.
Flaherty joined the University of Massachusetts football program in January of 2017 as a graduate assistant and was promoted to an offensive analyst ahead of the 2018 spring practice slate. Statistically, the 2018 offense surpassed the 2017 group as the program’s best offensive season since moving to the FBS level. The Minuteman offense averaged 32.8 points per game and 437.6 yards per game in 2018.
During his first year with the Massachusetts program, Flaherty helped develop one of the nation’s youngest offensive lines, which did not feature a starter in their final year of eligibility and saw the addition of four new starters to the unit. The line blocked for a Massachusetts offense that posted the third-most offensive yards per game in team history (432.8), and the then-greatest total since the team’s elevation to the Football Bowl Subdivision level.
Prior to his Massachusetts stint, Flaherty was with Harvard for the 2015 and 2016 seasons as the offensive quality control (assistant offensive line) and assistant operations coordinator for the Crimson.
While assisting offensive line coach Jeremy Bandy, Flaherty helped coach five different offensive linemen to All-Ivy League honors, including four selections on the first team. Two of these players would also earn All-America status, while four eventually signed NFL contracts. The offensive line paved the way for the league’s top offense in 2015, which averaged 36.4 points and 474.2 yards per game.
Flaherty started his coaching career at Bentley University by volunteering as the assistant tight ends and running backs coach in January 2015.
A 2015 graduate of Bridgewater State University, Flaherty was a four-year starter and senior captain for the Bears as an offensive lineman. He earned his degree in management with a minor in coaching
The Flaherty File
Hometown: Woburn, Mass.
High School: Woburn Memorial
College: Bridgewater State (management, 2015)
Playing Experience
2011-15 • Bridgewater State (offensive line)
Coaching Career
2015 • Harvard • Offensive Quality Control
2016 • Harvard • Offensive Quality Control
2017 • Massachusetts • Graduate Assistant
2018 • Massachusetts • Offensive Analyst
2019 • Boston College • Graduate Assistant
2020 • Boston College • Graduate Assistant
2021 • Vanderbilt • Offensive Quality Control
2022 • Vanderbilt • Offensive Analyst
2023 • Vanderbilt • Offensive Analyst
2024 • Vanderbilt • Tight Ends Coach
Postseason Experience
2015 • Harvard • Ivy League Co-Champions (no postseason)
2019 • Boston College • Birmingham Bowl
2024 • Vanderbilt • Birmingham Bowl Champions