Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Football
- Title:
- Defensive Coordinator
Ohio, 2008
• Now with 16 years of college coaching experience, Bryan Nardo arrived in Stillwater in January of 2023 after serving as the defensive coordinator at Gannon University in 2022, the linebackers coach at Youngstown State from 2020-21 and the eight seasons before that as the defensive coordinator at Emporia State.
• He holds a 81-39 career record in 11 years as a defensive coordinator.
• In his first season at the FBS level, Nardo’s 2023 defense finished No. 2 in the nation in fourth down defense with a conversion rate of just 24 percent, stopping opponents on 19 of 25 attempts.
• In 2023, linebacker Nick Martin led the unit with 140 total tackles to rank as the sixth-most in the FBS and the most for an OSU player since 1984. He also finished No. 3 in the FBS with 83 solo tackles and teamed with safeties Kendal Daniels (105 total tackles) and Trey Rucker (100 total tackles) to make Oklahoma State one of two FBS teams and the only Power Five team with three players to record triple-digit tackles on the year. Martin was a first team All-Big 12 selection and linebacker Collin Oliver earned second team honors.
• The 2023 Cowboy defense also forced 23 turnovers to rank among the FBS top 20 and mark OSU’s highest total since 2017.
• During his 10-year career as a coordinator at the NCAA Division II level, Nardo coached 26 all-conference linebackers with two of them adding All-America recognition.
• In his stint at Gannon in 2022, Nardo coached the Golden Knights to improvement over the prior season in nearly every defensive category, including scoring defense, yards per play, rush defense, pass defense and total defense. Gannon’s total defense average improved from 393.3 in 2021 to 287.4 in his lone season in Erie, Pennsylvania. It was Gannon’s lowest total yards per game allowed average in 20 seasons.
• Two of his 2022 players at Gannon, defensive back Chris Farnsworth and defensive end Nick White, also earned honorable mention All-America honors while helping lead the Golden Knights to an 8-3 overall record.
• The linebackers thrived under Nardo at Youngstown State. He recruited and coached transfer Grant Dixon, who stepped right into the starting lineup in 2020 and became the first YSU linebacker to be named first-team All-MVFC since 2007. Dixon followed that up with another all-conference performance under Nardo in 2021, leading the Penguins in tackles with 67 while adding two interceptions and two sacks.
• Nardo was selected as a member of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute in 2019, which was his final year at Emporia State.
• Nardo spent eight years as the defensive coordinator at Emporia State, leading a defense that helped the program to a 63-32 record with five postseason appearances.
• The 63 wins over eight seasons are more than any other decade of Emporia State football, and were the second-most in the MIAA during that time. The Hornets won two bowl games (2012 and 2018) while making the NCAA Division II Playoffs in 2013, 2015 and 2016, being ranked as high as No. 4 in the country.
• Nardo Emporia State defense was one of the best in the country in forcing takeaways, producing 209 during his time in Emporia. The Hornets were the only Division II program in country to force 25-plus takeaways every year from 2012-16.
• Nardo coached two linebackers to All-American accolades during those eight years, Ben Carlson in 2012 and Jace McDown in 2019. They were the first to earn that honor for the Hornets since 1999. Six different Hornet linebackers recorded 100-plus tackles in a season, with two others recording over 90. In 2015, for the first time in MIAA history, all three starting linebackers at Emporia State surpassed 100 tackles.
• In 2019, Emporia State was one of the best in the MIAA in almost every defensive category. The Hornets led the league in passing defense, while Lawson Holbert led the conference with seven interceptions and earned All-American honors in the process. ESU was second in total defense and third in rushing defense, which helped junior linebacker Jace McDown earn MIAA Athlete of the Year as well as All-American honors after finishing second in the league in total tackles. The unit’s success led to nine players from Emporia State’s defense earning all-conference honors.
• In 2018, Emporia State finished with another postseason appearance, securing their fourth straight winning season for the first time since joining NCAA Division II, and capped it off with a Corsicana Bowl win to finish 8-4. Nardo helped five players earn All-MIAA honors.
• The Hornets finished the 2016 season with an 11-2 overall record, going 10-1 in the MIAA. ESU hosted an NCAA Division II Playoff Game for the first time in school history, defeating 13th-ranked Minnesota Duluth, 59-26, to advance to the second round of the playoffs. The defense ranked in the top three in the MIAA in defensive scoring average and ended the year with 39 sacks. Kole Schankie led the nation in interceptions by a linebacker with seven.
• In 2015, Nardo’s defense helped the team to an 11-3 record and trip to the NCAA Division II regional final, securing Emporia State’s first ever victories in the Division II Playoffs. He guided a defense that was second in the MIAA in sacks with 40 and third in the league in interceptions with 17. The Hornets finished in the top 10 in the country with 32 takeaways, 103 tackles for loss and 40 sacks. The 40 sacks were the second most in a single season since the program began in 1893.
• In 2012, Nardo’s first season in Emporia, the Hornets went to the postseason for the first time in nine years, finishing the season 10-2 with a victory in the Kanza Bowl. The next season showed continued success as Emporia State made its first trip back to the NCAA Division II Playoffs since 2003, finishing the season 9-2.
• Before going to Emporia State, Nardo spent a season at Missouri S&T where he was named the Great Lakes Football Conference Assistant Coach of the Year in 2011. Both of his starting linebackers earned first team All-GLFC honors and the Miners led the GLFC in net punting, punt return defense, and kickoff return yards.
• Nardo was a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Ohio University, from 2008-10 and coached the nickel backs and outside linebackers. He served as a student coach from 2004-08 at Ohio.
Personal
• A native of Shadyside, Ohio, Nardo graduated from St. John Central High School and then attended Ohio University, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Sport Management in 2008.
• Coaching football runs deep in the Nardo family, as his father, Perry, and two brothers, Matt and Luke, are all members of the coaching profession.
• Bryan and his wife, Emma, have two sons, Dominick Paul and Elijah Ray.
Year By Year
| Year | School | Position |
| 2008-10 | Ohio | Graduate Assistant |
| (Nickel Backs/Outside Linebackers) | ||
| 2011 | Missouri S&T | Linebackers/Special Teams Coord. |
| 2012-19 | Emporia State | Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers |
| 2020-21 | Youngstown State | Linebackers |
| 2022 | Gannon | Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers |
| 2023-present | Oklahoma State | Defensive Coordinator |
Bowl Games
2006 GMAC Bowl
2009 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl
2010 New Orleans Bowl
2012 Kanza Bowl
2013 NCAA Division II Playoffs
2015 NCAA Division II Playoffs
2016 NCAA Division II Playoffs
2018 Corsicana Bowl
2023 Texas Bowl
Prominent Pupils
Ben Carlson, Emporia State
Chris Farnsworth, Gannon
Lawson Holbert, Emporia State
Jace McDown, Emporia State
Nick White, Gannon
