DUDLEY, Mass. (5/6/2025) – Head Football Coach Vinny Marino has announced Tony Brinson as the team's next Defensive Coordinator.
"I am very excited to bring Tony to Nichols and the football program to lead our defense." Coach Vinny Marino added, "I have known him for a long time and have coached with him at Columbia where he did a great job of coaching and recruiting. He has a wealth of experience as a Defensive Coordinator and is a tireless recruiter who I am confident will help make our defense much improved in 2025 and get our players playing at a high level.
Brinson starts his first season as the Defensive Coordinator and Line Backers Coach of the Bison Football team.
"I am tremendously excited at the opportunity to lead the charge of the Bison Herd on Defense." said Tony Brinson.
Brinson comes to Nichols after serving 2 years at FBS level UMASS under legendary coach Don Brown as the Senior Defensive Analyst working with the linebackers.
Before his time in Amherst, Brinson completed a second tour of duty at FCS Wagner College where he served as the Assistant Head Coach for the Football team and predominantly coached the linebackers. During his second time as Wagner, Brinson produced a two-time NEC Defensive Player of the Year, a Buck Buchanan Nominee and an FCS All-American. He coached NE Patriots linebacker Titus Leo who played linebacker under Brinson in 2018 and then as a hybrid rush in 2021/2022 before he was drafted in the 6th round to the Indianapolis Colts.
Prior to his second stint at Wagner, Brinson served as an Assistant Coach and Defensive Coordinator at Morehead State University. During his time at Morehead State, he produced the leading player in the PFL for sacks, TFLS and forced fumbles. His team ranked 29th in FCS for passing yardage allowed and ranked 25th in the country for fumble recoveries. Brinson produced four All-Conference PFL Players and two All-Academic PFL selections in 2019. At Morehead State in 2019, Brinson helped the Eagles to their best record since 2015, including a 5-5 mark against FCS opponents.
Before joining Morehead State, Brinson served as the Assistant Head Coach, Defensive Coordinator, Recruiting Coordinator and Special Teams Coordinator during his first stint with Wagner College. In 8 years, Brinson produced 14 NFL/CFL players, 34 All-Conference honorees, two FCS All-Americans, a pair of two-time NEC and ECAC Defensive Players of the Year, two Buck Buchanan Finalists, two Team MVPs and Defensive MVPS, one East-West Shrine Bowl recipient and one Hula Bowl recipient.
Brinson helped develop Carolina Panther's linebacker Cam Gill who emerged as the NEC's all-time sack leader and won Super Bowl LV with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Under Brinson, Gill was one of three All-NEC performers, along with linebacker Santoni Graham and defensive lineman Chris Williams, on a 2018 defensive unit that led the NCAA in sacks and ranked in the top 25 nationally in takeaways. A 2018 AP third-Team All-American and a candidate for the Buck Buchanan Award, Gill earned three NEC Defensive Player of the Week Awards in 2018, while Chicago Bear Chris Williams signed a future/reserves contract with the Indianapolis Colts following the 2020 NFL season and won Super Bowl LVIII with the Kansas City Chiefs.
In 2017, Brinson's defense ranked No. 1 in the NEC in both sacks and TFLs, while ranking No. 2 in rushing defense, which came on the heels of a 2016 season that saw the Seahawks rank in the top-25 nationally in sacks, TFLs, rushing defense, and scoring defense, while ranking 26th in total defense.
Under Brinson's guidance the 2016 Seahawks produced three All-NEC Performers as Defensive End Jordan Baskerville and Safety Tim Hayes earned First Team All-League honors while Linebacker Quinton Hampton earned Second Team All-League honors. Together, the trio helped Wagner rank No. 1 in Red Zone Defense, No. 3 in Total Defense (327.8 yd avg) and Rushing Defense (99.3 yd avg) in the NEC.
One of Brinson's former pupils is veteran NFL linebacker Julian Stanford, a 2011 First-Team All-NEC performer and NFL veteran. A retired member of the Carolina Panthers, Stanford previously played for the New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions, and Buffalo Bills.
Two of Stanford's teammates, also coached by Brinson, inked NFL free agent deals following the 2011 season in safety Jeremiah Brown and DE Quintin Anderson and were in training camps with the Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, respectively. In 2017, linebacker Najee Harris was a free agent signee with the Oakland Raiders.
Brinson has also helped develop several players who have gone on to compete in the CFL. C.O. Prime, a 2013 free agent signee of the NFL Indianapolis Colts, went on to enjoy a four-year career in his native Canada as a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. In 2018, Mathieu Loiselle signed a free agent CFL contract.
In 2014, the Seahawk defensive unit, spearheaded by its fine linebacker play, led the NEC in a host of categories while also ranking in the NCAA Top 10 in three major categories – Rushing Defense, No. 2 (83.1), Total Defense, No. 6 (281.3) and Scoring Defense, No. 10 (18.0). Thanks in large part to the relentless brand of defense displayed by the Green & White defense, the 2014 Seahawks went 7-4 overall and 5-1 in league, sharing the NEC title with Sacred Heart. This marked Wagner's second NEC title in three years as the Seahawks won the 2012 championship en route to an appearance in the Division I NCAA Playoffs. Brinson helped develop senior Max Wassel into a First-Team All-NEC performer whose 81 tackles, a 7.5 average per game, ranked No. 6 in the NEC. In addition, his 21 tackles for loss (for minus 61 yards) ranked No. 2 in the NEC while his 52 solo tackles ranked No. 3 in the league.
In Wagner's historic run to the 2012 NEC title and FCS Playoffs, aforementioned senior linebacker C.O. Prime recorded a team-best 98 tackles and earned second-team All-NEC honors. Also In 2012, Wagner's starting outside linebacker tandem of seniors Theodore Clohessy and Mike Milone turned in stellar campaigns despite not possession the physical stature of most top FCS linebackers.
Much of the groundwork that led to the 2012 NEC title was laid in 2011 under Brinson's direction as defensive coordinator. That season, Wagner ranked No. 1 in the NEC in three different categories: rushing defense (141.1 yards per game), red zone defense (71.8%) and takeaways (29).
Brinson spent time at Columbia University as the Assistant Football Coach. During his time at Columbia University, he produced a First Team All-Ivy, a Second Team All-Ivy, a Walter Camp All-American, an ECAC FCS All-Star, an Associated Press Second Team selection, a Collegeperformance.com Tight End of the Year, the leader in FCS Stats (receptions, yards, TDs) for all tight ends and led the Ivy League in TD catches.
Prior to Columbia, he served as an Assistant Coach in 2004-2008 at his alma mater the University of Rhode Island where he coached the Defensive Line for 2 years and the Secondary for 2 years.
Before URI, he was an Assistant Coach, Recruiting Coordinator, Defensive Coordinator, and Special Teams Coordinator for Bryant University where he helped start their football program from scratch. In 1999-2003. Brinson also spent time at Kean University where he worked mainly with Linebackers and Wide Receivers in 1995-1998
Brinson earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Fisheries/Marine Science from the University of Rhode Island in 1995 while also earning a Master of Arts in Education from Saint Peters College in 2002.
