Dynasty Sports

DJ Porter

Daniel James Porter (born January 9, 1986) is an American football coach who serves as the offensive coordinator for the University of Delaware football team. He previously held various assistant coaching positions at Delaware, the University of Maine and Sam Houston. He played college football at Delaware and the University of Maine.
Early Life and Education
Porter was born in 1986 in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. His parents owned and operated an inn and restaurant. Despite his parents lack of interest in sports Porter participated in and excelled at basketball, baseball and football from a young age. After starring at Old Orchard Beach High School for three years Porter moved to live with his aunt in Portland after his father fell ill. As a senior Porter led Portland High School to the state championship in football.

Playing Career
Porter walked on to the football team at Delaware. After redshirting he played in six games over the next two seasons at quarterback and tight end. He scored one rushing and one receiving touchdown.

Porter transferred to the University of Maine before his junior season. As a senior he started four games at quarterback for the Black Bears.

After college Porter signed with the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League. He was instrumental in their 2008 ArenaBowl win.

In 2009 he joined the UFL's Florida Tuskers, leading them to an undefeated season before falling to the Las Vegas Locomotives in overtime in the championship.

In 2010 he once again led the Tuskers to the UFL championship game, again losing to the Locomotives in the championship game. During the season Porter spent time as a graduate assistant at Delaware, working with head coach K.C. Keeler who was his coach when he played there.

Despite opportunities to continue playing in the UFL or Canada Porter elected to retire from playing and accepted a full-time position as an offensive assistant at Delaware under Keeler.

Coaching Career
Delaware
Porter joined the Delaware coaching staff as a graduate assistant during the 2010 season while still playing for the Florida Tuskers in the UFL. He split his time during the week between the two. His role with Delaware was primarily in film review and opponent scouting.

Porter worked closely with QB Pat Devlin who threw for 3,000 yards and 22 touchdowns against just three interceptions. Delvin won the CAA and ECAC offensive player of the year awards. Delaware finished the season 12-3 with a one point loss to Eastern Washington in the FCS National Championship game.

Porter was hired as a full time offensive assistant by Delaware prior to the 2011 season. He primarily worked on the passing game while also continuing to do film review, opponent scouting and assisting recruiting coordinators. The team took a step back in 2011, starting off 4-4 but winning their last three games to finish with a 7-4 record. They were not invited to the FCS playoffs.

Following a 4-0 start to the 2012 season during which they averaged 37 points per game Delaware struggled the rest of the way and finished 5-6 overall. Coack Keeler and his staff were let go at the conclusion of the season.

Maine
After interviewing for various positions at the DII and DIII level Porter was offered a position as an offensive assistant and a recruiting coordinator at the University of Maine under his former coach Jack Cosgrove. Maine finished the season 10–3, 7–1 in CAA play to be crowned CAA Champions. This included a 62-28 win against Delaware. The Black Bears received an automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where they lost in the second round to fellow CAA member New Hampshire.

Sam Houston
Coach Keeler reached out to Porter after he was hired to be the head coach at Sam Houston State. Porter accepted a position as an offensive assistant, primarily working with the quarterbacks. They finished the season 11–5, 7–1 in Southland play to finish in a share of the Southland Conference title. They received the Southland's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Southeastern Louisiana, Jacksonville State, and Villanova to advance to the Semifinals where they lost to North Dakota State. QB Jared Johnson threw for over 3,000 yards with 21 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Porter returned in a similar role in 2015, taking on a few more responsibilities and assisting with recruiting. The finished the season 11–4 overall and 7–2 in Southland play to finish in a tie for second place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Southern Utah, McNeese State, and Colgate to advance to the Semifinals, where they lost to Jacksonville State. Quarterbacks Jared Johnson and Jeremiah Briscoe combined for over 4,000 yards with 32 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

In 2016 Sam Houston went undefeated during the regular season with a record of 11–0. They received the Southland's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Chattanooga the second round, only to lose in the quarterfinals to James Madison. Porter's role expanded yet again and he was instrumental in leading an offense that scored over 40 points in all but two games. Briscoe threw for 4,602 yards with 57 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

After the 2016 season Sam Houston offensive coordinator Phil Longo left to take the same position at Ole Miss. Tim Cramsey was hired away from Nevada to fill the role, bringing over a pro-style spread offense which the team transitioned to from the Air Raid they had been running under Longo. Porter was promoted to wide receivers coach and became a recruiting coordinator. They finished the season 12–2, 8–1 in Southland play to finish in second place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs where they defeated South Dakota in the first round and Kennesaw State in the quarterfinals before losing in the semifinals to North Dakota State. They averaged over 42 points per game and 362 passing yards per game for the season. Porter was instrumental in stellar seasons by Nathan Stewart
(72 receptions, 1,648 yards, 14 touchdowns) and Davion Davis (78, 1,206, 17).

2018 was a down year, Sam Houston lost two of their first three games and finished the season 6–5, 5–4 in Southland play to finish in a four-way tie for fourth place. Ponts per game dropped to 30 and passing yardage per game was under 300 as the team struggled to replace Briscoe's production and transitioned to more of a spread option attack under new OC Ryan Carty.

2019 was a bit of an improvement with the team posting a 7-5 record with a mark of 6–3 in conference play, tying for third place in the Southland conference. The offense averaged 281 passing yards per game along with 146.9 rushing yards.

In the delayed 2020 season, played in early 2021 due to the Covid 19 pandemic, the Bearkats went 6–0 in regular season games. The team then won four games in the FCS Playoffs to complete an undefeated 10–0 season, including a 23–21 victory over South Dakota State in the FCS Championship Game, securing the Bearkats their first FCS title. The team averaged 37.5 points per game and 440 yards of offense per game. Porter's role was expanded during this time as various members of the coaching staff dealt with Covid and missed games. Porter even worked with the defense at times. Porter credits this season and the adversity he and the rest of the coaching staff as a big part of his development. "We had to adapt and learn parts of new roles on the fly and we all just kind of chipped in where we could." he explained before the start of the true 2021 season. "We all learned a lot during that time and it allowed me to expand my knowledge and capabilities to a great degree on a truncated timetable."

For the 2021 season Porter was promoted to quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator while also taking on an expanded role as a recruiter. Sam Houston joined the WAC where they turned in an undefeated 10-0 season. They then topped Incarnate Word in the second round of the playoffs before falling to Montana State in the quarterfinal. The Bearkats put up 41 points per game and over 490 yards per game. Eric Schmid threw for 2,818 yards along with 29 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. Ramon Jefferson led the team with 1,155 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.

Following the 2021 season Sam Houston lost offensive coordinator Ryna Carty, who accepted the head coaching position at Delaware. Porter was reportedly considered for the job but ended up losing out to Rutgers offensive assistant John Perry. The season was nothing short of a disaster with the offense struggling mightily and Perry being fired after five games. Porter took over as offensive coordinator and led the team to road wins at Utah Tech and Tarleton State before being suspended for the last two games of the season after making remarks related to the hiring of Perry and being passed over for the job. The team would lose those final two games to finish 5-4 on the season.

Sam Houston transitioned to the FBS prior to the 2023 season. During the offseason there was some speculation that Porter would be dismissed but Coach Keeler fought for him and he was retained and had his official title updated to quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator. He also took on more recruiting responsibilities. Brad Cornelsen was hired as offensive coordinator. Facing the tougher competition in FBS was a challenge and the team struggled to a 3-9 finish. They managed just 20 points per game and 311 yards per game.

Sam Houston made a big jump in 2024, turning in a 10-3 overall record and beating Georgia Southern in the New Orleans Bowl in just their second season of FBS play. The team averaged 23.7 points per game along with 347.9 yards per game. The spread offense was run heavy. After the regular season, K. C. Keeler announced he accepted the head coaching position at Temple.[4] He was replaced on an interim basis by offensive coordinator Brad Cornelsen for the New Orleans Bowl. Porter served as the assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and offensive play caller in the 31-26 win.

In December of 2024 Porter was hired to be the offensive coordinator for Delaware, reuniting him and Ryan Carty who played together at Delaware, coached together at Sam Houston and coaches against each other when Carty was an assistant at New Hampshire and Porter was at the University of Maine and later Delaware.

Personal Life
Porter currently resides in Huntsville, Texas, just a few minutes from the Sam Houston facilities.

Head Coaching Record

NCAA Season Results

NCAA Award Winners by Season

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