Sam McElroy

Who is Sam McElroy?

Sam McElroy is an American football coach. He formerly served as the defensive line coach for the Texas Tech Red Raiders and as head coach at Tarleton State University.

McElroy is a 1985 graduate of Southwest Texas State University, where he did not play varsity football but served as student assistant to head coach John O'Hara. Soon after graduation he became assistant coach at Corsicana High School. In 1989, he was hired by Grant Teaff to serve as graduate assistant at Baylor University. He later had short stints at Navarro College and at Alto High School, where he was named 1992 District 22-AA Coach of the Year after winning the district title and earning a state playoff berth.

In 1993, McElroy was hired by Ron Randleman to serve as defensive backs coach at Sam Houston State University. During his seven years on the staff at Sam Houston State, McElroy coached eight players who earned All-Southland Conference honors. In 2000, he left SHSU to join Todd Whitten's coaching staff at Tarleton State as defensive coordinator. While at Tarleton, McElroy guided a defense that improved each year under his direction. His last season with the Texans, his defense allowed opponents just 271 yards of offense and 17.1 points per game to rank second in the Lone Star Conference.