A native of Glen Ridge, New Jersey,
Sean Gleeson is in his third season as offensive coordinator at Rutgers in 2022. Gleeson also coaches the quarterbacks.
• The Scarlet Knights went 5-0 in 2021 when not committing a turnover. That included scoring 61 points in the season opener versus Temple, the most by the team against an FBS opponent since 2008.
• Two from the offense were selected in the 2022 NFL Draft: wide receiver Bo Melton (Seahawks) and running back Isiah Pacheco (Chiefs). Melton climbed to sixth in the school record books with 164 receptions and 10
th with 2,011 receiving yards. Pacheco earned honorable mention All-Big Ten and left seventh in program history with 2,442 career rushing yards and 11
th with 3,039 all-purpose yards.
• Named a candidate for the 2020 Broyles Award, which annually honors the top assistant coach in college football.
• Rutgers posted a program-best 26.7 points per game in a Big Ten season in 2020. The Scarlet Knights scored at least 20 points in eight games after reaching the mark five times the previous four seasons and 12 times in the first 52 Big Ten games. The 26.7 points per game ranked eighth in the Big Ten, improving from No. 14 the preceding season, as the previous best ranking in Big Ten-only games was 11
th.
• Rutgers finished as the fourth-most improved team in the nation by scoring offense (+13.4 points per game). The Scarlet Knights scored 81 more points than in 2019 (playing three fewer games), the sixth-best improvement in the nation in total points scored (the five higher teams all played 12 games). In addition, RU was the most improved in the Big Ten total in touchdowns scored (+12) and offensive touchdowns (+9).
• Rutgers averaged over 300 yards per game in a Big Ten season for the first time since 2015. The increase of 66 yards per game overall was the best improvement among Big Ten teams. The 3,052 yards of total offense was 1,172 more than the previous year in Big Ten play.
• Saw Melton (one of three receivers in the Big Ten to rank in the top six in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns) and offensive linemen Raiqwon O’Neal and Reggie Sutton earn All-Big Ten accolades in 2020.
• Utilized three different quarterbacks in creative ways, with Noah Vedral ranking third in the Big Ten with a 61.5 completion percentage, Johnny Langan rushing for nine first downs in the win at Purdue and Artur Sitkowski leading a game-tying drive to force overtime in the comeback victory over Maryland.
• After six seasons at Princeton, Gleeson was hired by Oklahoma State as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in January 2019 and spent one season in Stillwater.
• The Cowboys' offense averaged 32.5 points (36
th nationally) and 453.9 yards (22
nd nationally) per game with two ranked wins and a berth in the 2019 Texas Bowl. The balanced unit (2,985 rushing yards, 2,916 passing yards) also ranked 17
th in the country with 229.6 rushing yards per game and 27
th with a 64.1 completion percentage.
• Three offensive players earned All-Big 12 honors, including Big 12 Offensive Player Chuba Hubbard, Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year Spencer Sanders and second-team wide receiver Tylan Wallace. Hubbard was also named a consensus All-America pick and a Doak Walker Award finalist after leading the nation with 2,093 rushing yards and 179.54 all-purpose yards per game. For Sanders, he passed for 2,065 yards to set an OSU freshman record and averaged 269.0 yards of total offense to rank third among Power Five freshmen during the regular season.
• Engineered one of the most explosive offenses in the Football Championship Subdivision and helped the Tigers to an undefeated 2018 season. In Gleeson's six years on staff, Princeton won three Ivy League championships and averaged 36.9 points per game, which marked the program's highest output over a six-year stretch in program history.
• In addition to posting a perfect 10-0 record in 2018, Princeton led the FCS in scoring offense by averaging 47.0 points per game and ranked in the top 10 nationally in total offense (second with 536.8 yards per game), rushing offense (sixth with 295.5 yards per game), third-down conversion percentage (second with a mark of 53.4 percent) and pass efficiency (seventh with a mark of 161.26). The Tigers' 470 points scored set an Ivy League record.
• Coached directly by Gleeson, Tiger quarterback John Lovett excelled as a dual-threat performer to win 2018 Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year. Lovett, who completed 66.1 percent of his passes with 18 touchdowns, led the Ivy League by averaging 303.0 yards of total offense per game, passing for 203.7 yards per game and rushing for 99.3 yards per contest and became Princeton's first two-time first-team All-American since 1964.
• Three members of the 2018 Tigers’ offense went on to the NFL. Wide receivers Jesper Horsted (Chicago Bears), also an All-America pick, and Stephen Carlson (Cleveland Browns) joined Lovett (signed with Kansas City Chiefs, spent 2020 with Green Bay Packers) moving to the next level.
• In his first year as offensive coordinator in 2017, quarterback Chad Kanoff earned Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year honors, but did it in a different way than Lovett. Kanoff was a pro-style passer who set the Ivy League single-season record with 3,474 passing yards.
• During Gleeson's time as offensive coordinator, 18 members of the 2017 and 2018 Princeton offenses earned All-Ivy League honors.
• The 2018 Princeton recruiting class was ranked No. 1 in the FCS by
247Sports and included four-star quarterback Brevin White, who turned down an offer from Alabama to be coached by Gleeson at Princeton.
• Gleeson joined the Princeton staff in 2013 in the role of running backs coach. That team won the Ivy League and ranked second nationally in scoring offense with 43.7 points per game. He added the title of special teams coordinator in 2016 before being elevated to offensive coordinator in 2017.
• Gleeson's first job after graduation came at Delbarton School in Morristown, where he taught English and algebra and coached football, baseball and bowling. His first job in college football came as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Fairleigh Dickinson from 2011-12.
• Gleeson played quarterback at Williams College, where he graduated in 2007 with a degree in English. While at Williams, Gleeson was the highest-rated passer in the New England Small College Athletic Conference in 2005 (minimum 100 attempts), with a rating of 163.6. His team finished 8-0 in 2006. He received the Farley Award that year, which is presented to the member of the football team who demonstrates superior qualities of dedication, loyalty and sacrifice for the betterment of the team.
• Gleeson also played first base for the baseball team at Williams.
Hometown: Glen Ridge, N.J.
Alma Mater: Williams, 2007 (English)
Wife: Lauren
Children: Sons, Eamon, Patrick and William
2020-present: Rutgers (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks)
2019: Oklahoma State (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks)
2017-18: Princeton (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks)
2016: Princeton (running backs/special teams coordinator)
2013-15: Princeton (running backs)
2011-12: Fairleigh Dickinson (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks)
2007-11: Delbarton School (football, baseball, bowling)
