Michael Desormeaux
Michael Desormeaux (born September 29, 1985) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played quarterback at Louisiana where he ranks in the all-time top 10 for passing yards, passing touchdowns, and rushing yards.
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Louisiana |
| Conference | Sun Belt |
| Record | 0–0 |
| Annual salary | $775,000 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | September 29, 1985 New Iberia, Louisiana |
| Alma mater | University of Louisiana at Lafayette, 2008 |
| Playing career | |
| 2005–2008 | Louisiana–Lafayette |
| 2009 | Jacksonville Jaguars |
| 2009 | Calgary Stampeders |
| Position(s) | Quarterback, defensive back |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2010–2013 | Catholic HS (OC/QB) |
| 2013–2015 | Ascension Episcopal |
| 2016 | Louisiana (RB) |
| 2017–2020 | Louisiana (TE) |
| 2021 | Louisiana (co-OC/TE) |
| 2022–present | Louisiana |
College playing career
Desormeaux started playing for the Cajuns in his redshirt freshman year in 2005, going 2-2 as a starter. Following his first season, Desormeaux was one of three freshmen to be named to the All-Sun Belt team and was named to the teams Champion Award at the postseason banquet for his outstanding performance in both throwing and rushing in his first season. Going into his second season, Desormeaux played 12 games on special teams, while also seeing time at quarterback, wide receiver, and defensive back. He was named the Cajuns Special Teams Player of the Week in the losing effort against eighth-ranked LSU where he recovered two fumbles. He was named the Cajuns Offensive Player of the Week in the losing effort against Texas A&M where he scored the lone touchdown in an eight-yard rush. Following the season, Desormeaux was named the recipient of the Robert E. Trahan Achievement Team Award for an individual who achieves many accomplishments with the help of his teammates.
In his junior and senior years, Desormeaux became the starting quarterback after Jerry Babb's departure. Desormeaux would soon become one of the most famous Cajuns players in history, tying and breaking numerous records, including ranking third for 1,000+ rushing yards in history and finishing 20th for most rushing yards by a quarterback in NCAA history. Throughout his time, Desormeaux was named to numerous lists, including 2005 First Team All-Sun Belt Team, 2006 and 2007 Second Team All-Sun Belt Team, 2005-06, 2006-07, and 2007-08 Sun Belt Conference Commissioner's List. [1]
Professional playing career
Jacksonville Jaguars
Desormeaux was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Jacksonville Jaguars on April 26, 2009. After being waived on September 5, Desormeaux was signed to the Jaguars' practice squad on September 6. He was released on September 21.
Calgary Stampeders
Desormeaux signed a practice roster agreement with the Calgary Stampeders on October 8, 2009.
Coaching career
High School
After quitting his professional football dreams, Desormeaux returned home and took over the reigns as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at his alma mater, Catholic High School in New Iberia, Louisiana where he stayed for four seasons. In 2013, he received the head coaching position at a failing Ascension Episcopal School football program in Lafayette, LA where he won 24 games in three seasons and took the Blue Gators to the Division IV state semifinals in 2015.[2]
College Assistant
Desormeaux started his collegiate coaching career with the Ragin' Cajuns in 2016 as their wide receivers coach.[3] On December 3, 2017, following the firing of head coach Mark Hudspeth during the offseason, Desormeaux was named as interim head coach.[4] On December 15, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette named Billy Napier as new head coach of the Ragin' Cajuns. After Napier was hired, Desormeaux was named assistant head coach and tight ends coach.
College Head Coaching
On December 5, 2021, after Napier's departure, Louisiana promoted Desormeaux to head coach prior to the bowl game.
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (Sun Belt Conference) (2021–present) | |||||||||
| 2021 | Louisiana | 0–0 | New Orleans | ||||||
| Louisiana: | 0–0 | 0–0 | |||||||
| Total: | 0–0 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
Personal life
Desormeaux is married to Lindsey Sale Desormeaux. His distant cousin is horse jockey Kent Desormeaux.
References
- "Michael Desormeaux - Football". Louisiana Athletics. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
- Donaldson, Maxwell. "5 things to know about new Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football coach Michael Desormeaux". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- "Michael Desormeaux - Football Coach". Louisiana Athletics. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
- "Louisiana-Lafayette fires Hudspeth after 7 seasons as coach". www.ksl.com. Retrieved 5 July 2020.