Mark Snyder Mark Snyder ( born December 30 , 1964 ) is currently the defensive coordinator at Texas A & M University . He is the former head coach of the Marshall University Thundering Herd football team in Huntington , West Virginia . Snyder was the 28th head coach for the football squad after a four - year tenure with Ohio State University . Playing career . The South Point , Ohio native is a 1988 graduate of Marshall . Snyder played in 1987 for the football squad , leading the Southern Conference with 10 interceptions and was second on the team with 124 tackles his senior year at Marshall and helped lead the Herd to a landmark come from behind win at Louisville and a berth in Marshall ' s first - ever national championship game . He captured honorable mention All - America honors and first - team All - Southern Conference honors that season as the Thundering Herd posted a 10 - 5 overall record and finished as national runners - up to Northeast Louisiana ( 43 - 42 ) in the 1987 Division 1 - AA National Championship game . Snyder ' s 10 interceptions in 1987 still stands as the Marshall and Southern Conference single - season record . Coaching career . Early Coaching . After graduating from Marshall , the following fall he began his coaching career as a student assistant coach for the Herd . He moved on to the UCF Knights the following year and spent two seasons there , the first as a graduate assistant and the second coaching linebacker s . In 1991 , Snyder joined Jim Tressel at Youngstown State University as the outside linebacker coach . Snyder was given special teams and inside linebacker responsibilities in 1994 , and then promoted to defensive coordinator and secondary coach in 1996 . During his tenure at Youngstown State , the Penguins won three NCAA Division 1 - AA national championships and played in four consecutive national championship games , facing Marshall in three of those contests ( 1991 , 1992 , and 1993 ) . Following the 1996 season , Snyder went on to spend four years as the defensive ends coach under Glen Mason at Minnesota . While coaching the Golden Gophers , Minnesota ' s defense twice set school records for single - season sacks and averaged 40 . 7 sacks during a three - year span . While at Minnesota , Snyder ' s best players were Lamanzer Williams , who led the nation in sacks in 1997 , and Karon Riley , the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in 2000 . Ohio State Buckeyes . Snyder again reunited with Jim Tressel at Ohio State University and was coming off of his first season as the Buckeyes ' defensive coordinator . In Snyder ' s four years at Ohio State , the Buckeyes posted a 40 - 11 overall record and tallied a 3 - 1 record in bowl games , including victories in the 2003 and 2004 Tostitos Fiesta Bowls . Snyder helped develop a number of outstanding players at Ohio State , including All - Americans Matt Wilhelm , Cie Grant , and A . J . Hawk . Both Wilhelm and Grant played key roles in Ohio State ' s 2002 national championship before going on to become NFL draft picks . Hawk led OSU with 141 tackles en route to becoming the No . 5 overall pick by the Green Bay Packers in the 2006 NFL Draft . Return to Marshall . Marshall University ' s football program welcomed home one of its own when Mark Snyder was introduced as Marshall ' s 28th head football coach on April 14 , 2005 . " I am pleased that Mark decided to return to his alma mater and lead our football program into a new era , " Marshall Director of Athletics Bob Marcum said at Snyder ' s hiring . " He brings a great deal of experience , enthusiasm , and a proven record of success at the highest levels of college football to Marshall . " Snyder ' s first season , the 2005 campaign , had plenty of highlights as well . It marked the emergence of sophomore running back Ahmad Bradshaw , who finished the season with 997 yards rushing ( tops among underclassmen in Conference USA ) en route to earning second - team All - C - USA honors . Thanks to the Herd ' s membership in Conference USA and the league ' s multi - year agreements with ESPN and CSTV , Marshall gained a record amount of exposure by appearing on national television a record eight times in 2005 . In addition , the Thundering Herd set a school single - game attendance record with a crowd of 36 , 914 for the Kansas State contest on September 10 and in the spring of 2006 set a Green & White Game record with 17 , 346 fans . The former Marshall standout led one of the youngest Thundering Herd teams on record , one that lost 25 seniors from the previous year and had only six returning starters , to a 4 - 7 overall and 3 - 5 conference mark in his first season - Marshall ' s first in the highly competitive Conference USA . Marshall had only three returning starters on offense and had to replace its entire defensive front seven in 2005 . Adding to the challenge was the fact that Snyder did not take over the program until the end of spring practice . The first year head coach participated in only one spring practice and did not have an opportunity to install his system or get to know his personnel until August . Despite this , the Thundering Herd managed to be competitive in nearly every contest . In fact , the Thundering Herd was only a couple of breaks away from a seven win season and a bowl berth with three of the squad ' s losses coming by a mere five points or less . In Snyder ' s second season , he saw Bradshaw return at running back and receivers Marcus Fitzgerald ( brother of Pittsburgh standout Larry Fitzgerald ) and Hiram Moore breakout . Snyder ' s second season saw a bit more production , after a loss to West Virginia in the annual rivalry game to start the season . The Herd posted a 5 - 7 record and a 4 - 4 conference record . The Herd were 4 - 1 at home and 1 - 6 away . The marquee victory of the season was over UTEP , who were led by Jordan Palmer at quarterback . Bradshaw rushed for 261 yards and 5 touchdowns in the conference victory . At the conclusion of Snyder ' s second season as coach , his team became the inaugural recipient of The Fulmer Cup . To begin Snyder ' s third season as Marshall head coach , the Herd started the season 0 - 7 , which included a home loss to New Hampshire , a Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ) school . However , the Herd won their final three home games of the season , including a 26 - 7 victory over then division - leading East Carolina . The Herd finished the 2007 season with a 3 - 9 season record . One of the few highlights of the season was sophomore tight end Cody Slate earning All - American honors . In 2009 , Snyder came under fire for his losing records in the previous years . Despite returning an experienced team , Snyder struggled early on in the season . In an early game against Bowling Green University , in which the Thundering Herd were losing to their former MAC rivals , the student section turned on Snyder by rhythmically chanting " Fire Snyder . " Pressure continued to mount against him when the Herd blew a 13 - point lead in the 4th Quarter of their annual contest against the University of Central Florida . With a win over Southern Methodist , Marshall became bowl eligible for the first time since 2004 , and for the first time since Snyder became head coach in 2005 . Resignation from Marshall . On November 28 , 2009 , the Herd suffered a 52 – 21 loss to UTEP at the Sun Bowl in El Paso , Texas , thus finishing the season 6 – 6 . On November 29 , 2009 , it was announced that Snyder had resigned as head football coach , effective immediately . The Herd received a bowl bid to the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in Detroit , Michigan . On December 26 , 2009 , interim coach Rick Minter led them to a 21 – 17 victory over the Ohio University Bobcats in Marshall ' s first bowl game since 2004 . South Florida . On January 18 , 2010 , Snyder was named the defensive coordinator at South Florida . Texas A & M . On January 10 , 2012 , Snyder was hired by first - year head coach Kevin Sumlin as the defensive coordinator at Texas A & M . Personal life . Mark and his wife Beth , who is a native of nearby Ironton , Ohio and a graduate of the University of Kentucky , have three daughters : Chelsea , Lindsay , and Shaylee .