Sacramento State RBs coach Samuel Lawanson becomes D-coordinator

Sacramento State running backs coach Samuel Lawanson is the program’s new defensive coordinator, according to a source.

This past season was Lawanson’s second in his position at Sacramento State. He has previous defensive coordinator experience from coaching high school football in Texas and was a defensive assistant coach at Tulsa from 2000–03.

Lawanson replaces Sacramento State coach Jody Sears as the program’s defensive coordinator. Sears held the dual roles the past two seasons after he was promoted to head coach shortly following his hiring as the Hornets’ defensive coordinator in spring 2014.

GET READY TO COMPETE

Pick your champion (you can change it later). We’ll email you when brackets open.

No purchase necessary. 50 U.S./D.C. 18+. Entry opens 3PM ET Dec 6, 2026 and closes 8PM ET Dec 18, 2026. Void where prohibited.See for complete details. The College Football Playoff (CFP) is not a sponsor or administrator of this contest.

Prior to Sacramento State, Lawanson was at Arizona State for two seasons, first as a defensive quality control coach before moving to manager of player development his final season. He was the defensive coordinator at John Horn High in Mesquite, Texas, from 2007–11.

He was the defensive coordinator at Haltom High in Haltom City, Texas, in 2006 following two seasons as the co-defensive coordinator at Hillcrest High in Dallas. At Tulsa, he coached linebackers his first three seasons before moving to the secondary in ’03.

Lawanson was an outside linebacker at San Diego State from 1995–96 following two years at Fresno City College.

Sacramento State had a 2–9 record this past season.

Add us as a preferred source on Google