Ron Vanderlinden

Ron Vanderlinden is an assistant college football coach at Penn State University. He was formerly head coach at the University of Maryland from 1997 to 2000. At Maryland he compiled a 15-29 record and never made a bowl appearance.

As the current linebackers coach for the Nittany Lions, Vanderlinden has done his part in continuing the school's tradition as "Linebacker U." He has developed one of the top linebacker units in the nation, led by 2005 Butkus and 2005/2006 Bednarik award winner Paul Posluszny, a consensus All-American. He also coached Gino Capone to All-Big Ten honors in 2003 and is currently coaching 2006 All-American and 2007 Bednarik Award winner Dan Connor.

Prior to coaching the Terrapins, Vanderlinden was assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Northwestern University from 1992 to 1996, where he presided over the rebirth of a moribund football program into a two-time Big Ten champion. He was a defensive assistant at Colorado from 1983 to 1991. He started his career as a graduate assistant at Bowling Green in 1978 and also coached at the University of Michigan and Ball State. A four-year starter at center at Albion College, he twice earned all-conference honors.

When he took over as Terrapins head coach, in 1997 he inherited a team without a bowl game since 1990 and only one winning season since. In both the 1999 and 2000 seasons, Maryland narrowly missed achieving a winning season and bowl game bid by losing their finale ending both years with a 5-6 record. Despite these setbacks, during his tenure, Maryland improved significantly, winning more games in 1999 than the previous two years combined. His staff also brought on board players who would be instrumental in the Terrapins' 2001 meteoric rise to a BCS bowl and top-ten final ranking, to include linebacker E.J. Henderson, quarterback Shaun Hill, and wide receiver Guilian Gary. Under him, the team also started running back Lamont Jordan who set the school record for single-season rushing with 306 yards. When he was released upon the conclusion of the 2000 season, he was largely responsible for his successor Ralph Friedgen inheriting a talented and seasoned team.