Daryl Daleen joined the Cardinals’ coaching staff in February 2023. He works directly with Big Red’s inside linebackers and serves as the Cardinals’ co-special teams coordinator.
During his first season on campus, Daleen’s troops played a huge role in Lamar’s improved defense in every statistical category. Big Red ranked second or third in the league in scoring, total and pass defense, and the Cardinals rush defense surrendered 64 fewer yards per game than the year prior – all stats which helped Lamar post the nation’s fourth-largest single-season turnaround. This coming on the heels of a 2022 campaign that saw LU ranked near the bottom of the league in scoring, total, rushing and pass defense. For an encore, Daleen's position group helped Lamar become the second-toughest team in the league to score on allowing fewer than 23 points per game.
That trend continued during the 2025 season as LU recorded an improved record for a third-straight year – a year that ended with a top 25 national ranking, two wins over nationally ranked programs and the university’s second trip to the NCAA FCS Playoffs. Big Red’s defense once again held opponents to just 23 points per game and fewer than 20 points per game in conference play.
Lamar’s 2025 specialists produced three all-conference selections in 2025 – kicker Ben Woodard (first team), punt returner Kyndon Fuselier (second team) and kick returner LaDamion McDowell (second team). The Cardinals would record five conference special teams player of the week awards including Woodard and Fuselier who would go on to earn NCAA FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
Daleen began his coaching career in 2004 at Newberry College and has worked at every level of the game from high school to NCAA Division I in the past two decades, including two prior stints with Coach Rossomando at New Haven and then at Central Connecticut State.
Originally joining the UNH staff as the special teams coordinator/defensive line coach, he was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2013. During his time with the Chargers, Daleen helped build one of the top defenses at the NCAA Division II level. In 2012, Daleen produced a conference defensive player of the year, conference defensive lineman of the year and an honorable mention All-American.
Success on the defensive side of the ball has been a constant under Daleen's direction. The Chargers led the league in sacks in three consecutive seasons, and this came following a stretch where he served as coordinator at Pikeville (Ky.) College where his squad ranked among the league leaders in sacks and forced turnovers.
Daleen followed Rossomando to Central Connecticut State where he helped produce the best run in school history. The Blue Devils would go on to win a Northeast Conference title (with a perfect 6-0 record) and advance to the NCAA FCS Playoffs for the first time in program history.
Daleen is a graduate of Newberry College with a bachelor’s degree in history.
