Wally Dembowski Associate Head Coach/Co-Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Line Coach First season at NU: 1999, 2004 Alma Mater: Holy Cross '88

Football 2008 •TEAM PAGE | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | TEAM STATS

Wally Dembowski begins his sixth year overall with Northeastern and fifth as a coach on Hager’s staff. He is returning to a familiar post in 2008, having been named the co-defensive coordinator, alongside Rapheal Dowdye. Dembowski was the defensive coordinator for the Huskies in 2005 before being named the associate head coach/defensive line coach in 2006. In 2004, he served as the defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator. Dembowski has been a valued member of the Northeastern football staff and the Gridiron Club recognized that, naming him Assistant Coach of the Year in January 2007. Dembowski's work with the defensive line has made the unit one of the strongest in CAA Football. Last season, the line produced nine of the team's 21 sacks and accounted for 34 percent of the team's tackles for a loss. Dembowski has mentored two defensive line players that went on to all-conference honors, James Abosi in 2004 and Matt Campopiano in 2006. This is Dembowski’s second go-around at Northeastern, as he held the title of special teams coordinator and defensive line assistant in 1999. NU led the Atlantic 10 in kickoff return average that season. Dembowski, 42, spent his first eight seasons in college coaching serving in various capacities at Boston University, starting out as a graduate assistant in 1990, responsible for tight ends and the defensive line. The height of his success with the Terriers came in 1993, when the team won the conference title and a gained berth in the NCAA quarterfinals. That year, BU finished 12-1, including its first and only undefeated regular season (11-0). In the national playoffs, the Terriers defeated Kurt Warner-led Northern Iowa, 27-21, in double overtime before falling to Idaho, 21-14, in the quarterfinals. BU was tabbed ECAC Team of the Year and claimed the Lambert Cup, given to the top team in the East. The following season, Boston University went 9-3 and made a second consecutive trip to NCAAs. Dembowski spent the 1998 season at New Haven before his first season at Northeastern. He then coached at American International College in 2000, when the team won the Eastern Football Conference championship. Dembowski also served as the head coach at Div. II UMass Lowell in 2001 and 2002 before the program was discontinued. Dembowski played at Holy Cross during the mid-1980s, earning All-America, All-New England and all-conference honors for himself and leading the Crusaders to an 11-0 record and the Lambert Cup in 1987. He caught 111 passes for 1,394 yards in his career before graduating in 1988 with a degree in Economics. He also earned a Master's degree in Education from Boston University in 2007. Dembowski and his wife, Tracie, live in Danvers with their two children: Andrew (8) and Thomas (4).