Ted Roof Terrence Edwin Roof , Jr . ( born December 11 , 1963 ) is an American football coach and former player . Currently , he is the defensive coordinator at the Georgia Institute of Technology . Roof served as the head coach at Duke University from 2003 to 2007 , compiling a 6 – 45 record . Noted for his highly aggressive defenses , Roof was the defensive coordinator at the University of Minnesota , and at Auburn University , winning the 2011 BCS National Championship Game . His most recent position , prior to returning to his alma mater , was that of defensive coordinator at Penn State . Early life and family . Roof attended Central Gwinnett High School and earned his bachelor ' s degree in management from Georgia Tech in 1987 . Roof is married to Pam Ash - Roof of Fayetteville , Georgia , and the couple have twin boys , Terrence Davis and Michael Edwin who now attend Mount Nittany Middle School . Playing career . After graduating from Central Gwinnett High School , Roof went on to play football for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in 1982 . He started his final three seasons and served as team captain while leading the Ramblin ' Wreck ' s famed " Black Watch " defense as a senior . Their success fueled Georgia Tech ' s run to 9 – 2 – 1 in 1985 , including a win over Michigan State in the All - American Bowl . Roof was honored as member of the All - America team , was selected to the All - ACC first team , and was named the Defensive Back of the Year by the Atlanta Touchdown Club . He remains among the most prolific tacklers in program history , ranking second for most tackles in a single game with 25 versus Tennessee in 1985 and seventh on the all - time tackling list with 417 . Roof was enshrined into Georgia Tech ' s Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998 . Coaching career . Roof began his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Alabama in 1987 , where he helped on defense before taking his first full - time position as the linebackers coach at the University of West Georgia for the 1989 season . After Steve Spurrier left Duke University in 1990 , his successor , Barry Wilson , lured Roof to fill the position coaching outside linebacker s on his staff . When Wilson and his staff were fired after the 1993 season , due to Roof being hired , Roof left to serve as an assistant coach at the for the University of Massachusetts Amherst . Roof took his first job as defensive coordinator in 1997 at Western Carolina University , where he stayed one season before being lured away to join George O ' Leary ' s staff at his alma mater . After spending the first season coaching the Yellow Jackets linebackers , Roof was promoted to defensive coordinator . He was nominated for the 2000 Broyles Award , an annual honor given to the nation ' s top assistant coach , when his defense finished the season ranked 12th in the nation in rushing defense and 20th in scoring defense . The following season , the Yellow Jackets were again one of the top defenses in the nation , ranking 23rd nationally in total defense and 32nd against the run . When O ' Leary left for the University of Notre Dame , Roof left Georgia Tech to become the defensive coordinator at Duke for the 2002 season . Roof ' s instruction brought marked improvement to the Duke Blue Devils defense , which the ACC in rushing defense after finishing ninth in the league the previous year . From 2001 to 2002 , the Blue Devils moved from ninth to fifth in the ACC and from 113th to 58th nationally in total defense . They progressed in passing defense in the 2003 season , jumping to third - place in the ACC from ninth the previous year . When head coach Carl Franks was released mid - way through the 2003 season , Roof was promoted to interim head coach . The team finished the season by winning two of the last three games and Roof was subsequently hired as the 20th head coach at Duke on December 6 , 2003 . However , after winning only four games over the next four seasons , he was fired on November 26 , 2007 , having compiled a 6 – 45 record . Despite the dismal record of Duke teams under Roof , his aggressive defenses consistently ranked in the top - 30 nationally in tackles behind the line of scrimmage . The 2008 pre - season saw Roof in strong demand . While he had initially been hired on January 6 , 2008 by the University of Louisville to work alongside Ron English and Ken Delgado on the defense , it was reported on February 21 , 2008 that Roof would succeed Everett Withers as the defensive coordinator at the University of Minnesota . Under just one season of Roof ' s tutelage , the Gophers made tremendous improvements to give up 160 yards fewer passing yards per game and over 135 fewer total yards when compared to the previous year ' s 119th ranked defense . Besides the nation ' s worst total defense , Roof also inherited a squad which had ranked 115th in pass defense , 114th in rushing defense and 109th in scoring defense in 2007 . Roof ' s defense made strides throughout the season and finished ranked in the top - 25 in both sacks and tackles for loss after being ranked 103rd and 116th the previous season . Roof ' s defense created 31 turnovers , second most in the Big Ten and 11th nationally . They were seventh in the nation causing fumbles ( 16 ) , fueling the team ' s 16th ranking in turnover margin . Overall , the scoring defense improved to 61st , rushing defense to 69th , total defense to 79th and pass defense to 93rd . This quick turn - around on defense contributed to the Golden Gophers improving their record from 1 – 11 to 7 – 6 and garnering an appearance in the 2008 Insight Bowl . On January 6 , 2009 , Roof was hired as the defensive coordinator at Auburn University by first - year head coach Gene Chizik . Roof had just finished one season in a three - year contract at Minnesota reportedly worth $ 350 , 000 a year . His salary at Auburn will be $ 370 , 000 . While at Auburn , Roof has coached in two bowl games , with wins in both the 2010 Outback Bowl and the 2011 BCS National Championship Game . Coach Roof ’ s enthusiasm makes him successful . He has a passion for football . He lives , eats and sleeps football , and that rubs off on everyone around him ( but no current playing field ) . Football is his first priority , but it goes deeper than that . He asks us our thoughts on the game plan , and then asks about our classes and families . It ’ s a big thing when a coach cares about you and Coach Roof is so genuine . He really brought us together as a team . - - Kenneth Stanford , 2004 Duke Co - Captain On December 8 , 2011 , Roof accepted the defensive coordinator position at the University of Central Florida . The move came after Roof led Auburn ' s defense to one of the worst statistical seasons in the program ' s history . Auburn ' s defense finished the 2011 regular season 78th in the nation , allowing 405 . 8 yards per game . The previous yards - per - game high for an Auburn defense was 389 . 1 in 1979 . Ted has played an important role in the success of our football program , helping Auburn win 29 games in three years , including a national championship last season . I ' m very appreciative of the passion , energy and work ethic Ted brought to the program every day . I know that this will be a great opportunity for Ted to be reunited with his mentor in George O ' Leary and we wish him and his family nothing but the best at UCF . On January 10 , 2012 , Roof was hired by new head coach Bill O ' Brien as defensive coordinator at Penn State . Due to the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal , on July 24 , 2012 the National Collegiate Athletics Association ( NCAA ) sanctioned Penn State with a four - year postseason ban , loss of 40 scholarships over a four - year period and allowed players to transfer without having to sit out a year . Despite the difficult conditions of the program , Roof led the defense to rank second in the Big Ten Conference in scoring defense , led the league in sacks , ranked first in red - zone defense and third in turnover margin . Nationally , Penn State ranked tied for first in red - zone defense , 15th in sacks , 16th in scoring defense , 23rd in rushing defense , 28th in pass efficiency defense and 29th in total defense . On January 9 , 2013 , Georgia Tech announced Roof was returning to his Alma Mater as Defensive Coordinator for the Yellow Jackets .