Kwame Agyeman enters his second year as Nevada's co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach in 2023.
Agyeman's work with the Pack defense, and notably with his safeties group, made a major impact early on and throughout the 2022 campaign.
Safety Bentlee Sanders had a career season, finishing as the Mountain West's interception leader with five, which also ranked 11th nationally. Sanders was named to the All-Mountain West First Team, and earned national recognition during the campaign, being named to the Associated Press Midseason All-America Team. In addition to his five picks, Sanders led the Nevada defense with 81 tackles (65 solo), forced three fumbles, and made 5.0 tackles-for-loss.
Fellow safety Tyriq Mack was a major player on the Pack defense in 2022, ranking third on the team with 58 tackles along with an interception.
Agyeman's safeties played a key role in the Wolf Pack defesne's focus on takeaways in 2022, accounting directly for six (five interceptions by Sanders, one for Mack), and indirectly for three more as Sanders' three forced fumbles were all recovered by the Pack. Takeaways played a major role in the Wolf Pack's first two contests of the season, as Nevada made five (four interceptions) in the season-opening win at New Mexico State, and four more in the following week's 38-14 victory over Texas State, including a pick-six from Sanders.
Four members of Agyeman's defense earned All-Mountain West honors following the season: Sanders, defensive tackle Dom Peterson (Second Team), linebacker Drue Watts (Honorable Mention), and nickel Tyson Williams (Honorable Mention).
Prior to joining the Wolf Pack in Jan. 2022, Agyeman was the longest-serving member of the Oregon coaching staff after finishing his seventh season with the Ducks in 2021.
A four-year letter winner for the Ducks in the mid-2000s, Agyeman finished his fourth season as a defensive analyst after three seasons as a graduate assistant with Oregon.
Agyeman returned to Oregon following a pair of seasons at Northwestern where he worked as a quality control coach and in the recruiting office. He started his coaching career in the high school ranks, working in both Oregon and Illinois.
In 2015 at Oregon, following a seven-year absence, Agyeman returned to his alma mater and has been a member of the staff since working under three different head coaches. Agyeman spent the first three years as a graduate assistant working with defensive backs before shifting to an analyst role where he has worked with inside linebackers (2018), safeties (2019) and cornerbacks (2020-21).
During Agyeman’s six years on staff, Oregon has advanced to five bowl games culminating in back-to-back Pac-12 Conference championships in 2019 and 2020 and appearances in the 2020 Rose Bowl and the 2021 Fiesta Bowl. In his first season with the Ducks, Oregon advanced to the Valero Alamo Bowl after winning nine games, including a 7-2 record in Pac-12 Conference play, during the regular season. In 2017, the Ducks returned to postseason play after a one-year absence, playing in the Las Vegas Bowl.
After moving into the analyst role, Agyeman has helped the Ducks to a pair of bowl wins in his first three seasons in the role. In addition to the Rose Bowl win over Wisconsin following the 2019 season, the Ducks knocked off Michigan State in the 2018 Redbox Bowl.
Agyeman has been instrumental in helping the Oregon defense improve greatly since the 2016 season. The Ducks’ 2019 defense allowed 24.9 fewer points per game than the 2016 Oregon defense. The 2019 squad also allowed 189.3 fewer total yards than the 2016 team, as well as 51.8 fewer passing yards while more than doubling interceptions (9 in 2016; 20 in 2019) and increasing passes defended from 55 to 76 in 2019.
As far as national ranking are concerned, Oregon climbed from 126th nationally in points allowed in 2016 (41.4 ppg) to ninth in 2019 (16.5 ppg). Oregon’s improvement in total yards defense has jumped from 126th (518.4 ypg) to 22nd (329.1 ypg) during that time while its passing defense has climbed from 113th (271.9) to 53rd (220.1). Oregon finished second in the country in picks in 2019, a drastic improvement over a No. 81 ranking in 2016.
In 2019, Oregon’s defense ranked either first or second in the Pac-12 in nearly every major category after ranking ninth or worse in 10 major statistical categories in 2016.
In his six seasons with the Ducks, Agyeman has helped coach seven players who have earned All-Pac-12 Conference honors, six who were selected in the NFL Draft and another who played professionally after signing a free-agent deal.
Cornerbacks Mykael Wright and Deommodore Lenoir both earned All-Pac-12 honors following the COVID-shortened 2020 season with Wright being selected as a first-team pick by both the coaches and the
Associated Press. Lenoir claimed second-team recognition from both the coaches and the AP.
Safety Jevon Holland and linebacker Troy Dye both earned second-team all-league recognition while Agyeman worked with their position groups. The
Associated Press honored Holland as a second team pick in 2019, while the league’s coaches made Dye a second-team selection in 2018. Three of Agyeman’s players also claimed honorable mention honors – Arrion Springs and Ugochukwu Amadi in 2017 and Tyree Robinson in 2018.
Four of Agyeman’s players were selected in the 2021 NFL Draft. The Miami Dolphins picked Holland in the second round, the San Francisco 49ers selected Lenoir in the fifth round, and the Tennessee Titans and Chicago Bears made Brady Breeze and Thomas Graham Jr. their sixth-round picks, respectively.
The Seattle Seahawks selected Amadi in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, while the Minnesota Vikings picked Dye in the fourth round of the 2020 draft. Robinson signed a free-agent contract with the Dallas Cowboys, making the team’s opening day roster in 2018 before joining the San Francisco 49ers later that season.
Agyeman began his collegiate coaching career at Northwestern in the Big Ten Conference where he spent a pair of seasons on Pat Fitzgerald’s staff at Northwestern. In 2013, Agyeman worked in the recruiting office before moving to the role of quality control for special teams in 2014.
A two-year starter at linebacker, Agyeman lettered from 2004 to 2007 at Oregon. He played in the Arena Football League for three seasons while breaking into the coaching ranks as a volunteer assistant at Springfield’s (OR) Thurston High School. An Illinois native, he returned home to teach and coach at his alma mater, Lake Park High School (2010-13).
Agyeman and his wife, Lisa, were married in 2018.
COACHING CAREER
| 2020-21 |
Defensive Analyst/Cornerbacks |
Oregon |
| 2019 |
Defensive Analyst/Safeties |
Oregon |
| 2018 |
Defensive Analyst/Inside Linebackers |
Oregon |
| 2015-17 |
Graduate Assistant/Defensive Backs |
Oregon |
| 2014 |
Quality Control/Special Teams |
Northwestern |
| 2013 |
Recruiting Assistant |
Northwestern |
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2020 Pac-12 Conference – Oregon (Defensive Analyst/Cornerbacks)
2019 Pac-12 Conference – Oregon (Defensive Analyst/Safeties)
2019 Pac-12 North – Oregon (Defensive Analyst/Safeties)
BOWL GAMES (8)
2021 Fiesta Bowl – Oregon (Defensive Analyst/Cornerbacks
2020 Rose Bowl – Oregon (Defensive Analyst/Safeties)
2018 Redbox Bowl – Oregon (Defensive Analyst/Inside Linebackers)
2017 Las Vegas Bowl – Oregon (Defensive Analyst/Defensive Backs)
2016 Valero Alamo Bowl – Oregon (Graduate Assistant/Defensive Backs)
2007 Brut Sun Bowl – Oregon (Player)
2006 Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl – Oregon (Player)
2005 Pacific Life Holiday Bowl – Oregon (Player)
NFL DRAFT PICKS COACHED (6)
2021 (RD 2) S Jevon Holland – Oregon – Miami Dolphins
2021 (RD 5) CB Deommodore Lenoir – San Francisco 49ers
2021 (RD 6) S Brady Breeze – Tennessee Titans
2021 (RD 6) CB Thomas Graham Jr. – Chicago Bears
2020 (RD 4) LB Troy Dye – Oregon – Minnesota Vikings
2019 (RD 4) SAF Ugochukwu Amadi – Oregon – Seattle Seahawks
UNDRAFTED NFL PLAYERS COACHED (1)
SAF Tyree Robinson – Oregon – Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers
ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS COACHED (7)
2021 CB Mykael Wright – Oregon – Pac-12 (AP – 1st, Coaches – 1st)
2021 CB Deommodore Lenoir – Oregon – Pac-12 (AP – 2nd, Coaches – 2nd)
2019 DB Jevon Holland – Oregon – Pac-12 (AP – 2nd, Coaches — HM)
2018 ILB Troy Dye – Oregon – Pac-12 (Coaches – 2nd)
2017 DB Arrion Springs – Oregon – Pac-12 (Coaches – HM)
2017 DB Ugochukwu Amadi – Oregon – Pac-12 (Coaches – HM)
2015 DB Tyree Robinson – Oregon – Pac-12 (Coaches – HM)
