William Vlachos - Football Coach - University of Colorado Athletics

Wyoming

Sep 20 (Sat)

8:15 p.m.

William Vlachos

Title:
Quality Control/Defense
Email:
william.vlachos@colorado.edu

                William Vlachos in his second year on the Colorado Staff, his first as the quality control/defensive blitz & offensive front specialist. He originally joined Karl’s Dorrell’s inaugural staff in quality control for the defense in March 2020.

                Vlachos, 33, came to Colorado from the Buffalo Bills, where he was an offensive assistant for the 2018 season. He previously worked in quality control for the offense for the University of Alabama, his alma mater, for three seasons (2015-17). He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for the Crimson Tide, working for the offense in 2013 and 2014.

                He was a first-team All-American center at Alabama as a senior in 2011, when the Crimson Tide won their second BCS national title when he was a starter, defeating LSU, 21-0 in the Sugar Bowl; as a sophomore, Alabama defeated Texas, 37-21, in the Rose Bowl which completed a perfect 14-0 season. He earned a third national championship ring with the Tide as an offensive graduate assistant for their 2014 team, when Alabama defeated Clemson, 45-40, in the first College Football Playoff championship game in Glendale, Ariz. He then won a fourth ring for the 2016 season after he was promoted to the quality control position with the Crimson Tide, who rallied to defeat Georgia in overtime, 26-23, in Atlanta. (He actually missed out on a fifth title with ‘Bama, when Clemson scored with one second remaining to win the 2016 CFP title game, 35-31, in Tampa).

                Also a two-time, first-team All-Southeastern Conference performer, Vlachos redshirted as a freshman at Alabama in 2007, but was on the sidelines when the Tide held off a furious Colorado rally to defeat the Buffaloes, 30-24, in the Independence Bowl. After seeing limited action in 2008, as a sophomore he started every game in 2009, blocking for Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, who rushed for 1,658 yards and 17 touchdowns; he also helped Greg McElroy throw for 2,508 yards and 17 TDs en route to winning both the SEC and BCS titles.  He started every game as a junior, that season ending with a 49-7 victory over Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl. And as a senior, he once again helped pave the way for another prolific running back, Trent Richardson, who rushed for 1,679 yards and 23 touchdowns and finished third in the race for the Heisman. He ended his career starting 40 consecutive games and played in 48 games overall.

                Alabama was 55-12 when he was a player, and 64-7 when he was on its staff for a combined record of 119-19; he was named to Alabama’s second-team All-Decade (2010-19) squad. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Tennessee Titans and was with the club through the preseason in 2012.

                Vlachos earned two degrees from Alabama, his bachelor’s in Consumer Economics in 2011 and his Masters in Sport Management in 2012.

                He was born May 26, 1988 in Athens, Greece; his family moved to the United States when he was a year old. He graduated from Mountain Brook High School in Birmingham, Ala., where he lettered in football. His hobbies include hunting and fishing. His maternal grandfather, Bill Nichols, was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the state of Alabama for 22 years (1967-88). (Last name is pronounced vlay-hoas, as in dose.)