Bio

Rick Purcell coached his first season as the Strong Safeties coach on Bryant's staff.

Purcell led the strong safeties, who were led by Chris Yates, who tallied 39 tackles last season, which was second most on the team. 

Prior to joining the Bulldogs, Purcell served as special teams coordinator and secondary coach at William Paterson University (NJ) where he and the staff helped lead the program to its best record since 2014. The secondary played a pivotal role in the team’s success and finished with six interceptions, including a pair of pick-sixes. The team finished third in the highly competitive NJAC, holding opponents to 22.3 points per game and under 300 yards of total offense per game (292.7). Two of his standouts earned defensive player of the week honors.
 
Purcell coached successfully at the prep level and played pivotal roles for those teams. As the Freshmen Head Coach/Varsity Assistant at La Salle (Cincinnati) he helped deliver the school’s first state title in 2014 (14-1) and helped lay the groundwork that led to three consecutive titles (2014-2016). He coached the safeties on Cincinnati Colerain’s 2015 state final four team and was instrumental in developing Darrian Beavers (NY Giants), Amir Riep (Ohio State), and Keonte Jones (Iowa State/Western Illinois). As the secondary coach at Warren Central (Indianapolis) from 2017-2018, he helped the program secure its ninth state title (14-0). During his time there he coached Mr. Football runner up David Bell (Purdue, Cleveland Browns) and Julius Brents (Kansas State – 2022 Jim Thorpe Watch List). During his high school career, he coached 12 student-athletes who went on to play in Division I and several others to the Division II and III levels.
 
Purcell was a letterman at the University of Notre Dame where he was a defensive back. He was a member of the 1988 National Championship and 1989 Orange Bowl teams.
 
Purcell earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Notre Dame and his Juris Doctor from the University of Cincinnati. Purcell is active in his community working with youth teams and mentoring young adults.