An established recruiter with extensive NFL and collegiate coaching experience, John Rushing enters his first season as the safeties coach at Arizona. He comes to Tucson after spending one year in the same capacity at Oregon State.
Rushing’s arrival in the desert is a reunion of sorts. First, he played collegiately at Washington State from 1990-95, beginning his career at the same time current Arizona head coach Kevin Sumlin was a graduate assistant in Pullman. Then when Rushing began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Boise State, current UA defensive coordinator Marcel Yates was playing defensive back for the Broncos.
Prior to Rushing’s one year in Corvallis, he worked one season as special teams and defensive consultant for the Los Angeles Rams and previously served seven seasons in various roles with the Green Bay Packers.
A three-time NFL Pro Bowl coach, Rushing’s responsibilities with the Packers included offensive quality control (2009-10), assistant wide receivers and special teams coach (2011), offensive quality control/runningbacks and special teams (2012-13) and also defensive quality control/defensive backs (2014-16).
During his time in Green Bay, the Packers compiled a 94-46-1 record, highlighted by the 2011 Super Bowl Championship. Along the way, they won five NFC North Division titles, including from 2011-14 and again in 2016. Among the players Rushing coached were receiver Greg Jennings, who participated in the 2011 Pro Bowl, and running back Eddie Lacey, the 2013 NFL Rookie of the Year.
Rushing broke into the professional coaching ranks after seven seasons tutoring the secondary at Utah State. He was the secondary coach from 2003-05, and focused on cornerbacks and punt return from 2005-09. In 2007, Kevin Robinson led the NCAA with 18.9 yards per punt return. He also coached cornerback Jarrett Bush to first team All-WAC honors in 2005 and safety Terrance Washington to freshman All-America honors in 2004.
Montana State hired Rushing for his first full time assistant coaching position in 2000, serving as the secondary coach through the 2003 season. In his four seasons, the Bobcast twice won the Big Sky Conference championship. They also twice led the league for total defense and pass efficiency defense. Rushing coached Kane Ioane to four-time All-America honors as well as Big Sky Player of the year as a senior. Additionally, Rushing developed Joey Thomas into two-time all-league honors.
Rushing’s Division I coaching career began in 1998, when he joined Dirk Koetter’s staff as a graduate assistant at Boise State. In 1999, the Broncos won 10 games en route to their first Big West championship, and defeated Louisville in the Humanitarian Bowl. They accomplished the same feats the following season, ending the season with a Humanitarian Bowl victory over UTEP.
Before his time in Boise, Rushing coached cornerbacks at Willamette College from 1996-98. Previously, he began his coaching career as a defensive backs and special teams coach at Merced Union High School.
In his career at Washington State, Rushing set the Cougar record for starts (46) and ranks in the top 10 for career tackles (343). He was named a Sporting News All-American in 1991 and 1992, while earning Pac-10 All-Conference honorable mention honors in 1992 and 1994.
Rushing went on to play professionally in both the Canadian Football League and the NFL. He started with the Birmingham Barracudas in 1995, was with the Dallas Cowboys in 1996 and concluding his professional career with the Edmonton Eskimos (1997).
A native of Merced, Calif., Rushing has a sociology degree from Washington State University (1996) and a master’s in education from Boise State (2005). He and his wife Angela have four children, including Angel, Tatiana, Nataya, Kamiah and John.
