Pat Kirkland enters his second season as head coach Rich Rodriguez’s Special Teams Coordinator and Bandits coach in 2023. He joined the Gamecocks in 2022, bringing a wealth of experience from all aspects of collegiate coaching.
During the 2023 season, punter Jack Dawson was among the best in Conference USA with a 42.3 yards per punt average with 23 of his 65 punts landing inside the opponent's 20-yard line and was an honorable mention All-CUSA selection. The Gamecocks averaged 62.1 yards per kickoff with 39 touchbacks. On defense, Jax State led Conference USA in sacks largely due to his Bandits group racking up 39 sacks in 13 games, resulting in 291 lost yards. J-Rock Swain also earned honorable mention All-CUSA with five tackles for loss and four sacks.
His move to Jacksonville translated into immediate success, helping the Gamecocks to a 9-2 record, including a perfect 5-0 conference record and the 2022 ASUN Conference Championship. His Bandits room was led by J-Rock Swain, who earned First Team All-ASUN honors and helped the Gamecocks lead the country in fumbles recovered and to the 12th-best Red Zone Defense in the nation.
His Special Teams units were also difference makers for Jax State in 2022, ranking fourth nationally in net punting, 10th in kickoff returns and seventh in blocked punts. Alen Karajic broke the school records for scoring in a game by a kicker and for consecutive field goals made during the year, as well.
Kirkland’s prior experience includes 10 years of head coaching experience at the University of Charleston in Charleston, W.Va., where he coached the Golden Eagles to a 70-41 record and was the runner-up in the Mountain East Conference six times. His 2021 team went 8-2.
In his time at Charleston, he coached 42 First-Team All-Conference players, as well as numerous all-region and All-America selections. He had players earn Mountain East Conference Player of the Year honors on both offense and defense, with the latest one coming in 2021 when running back Tyreik McAllister was named the MEC’s Offensive Player of the Yar.
His 2015 team at Charleston finished 10-1 and No. 15 in the nation after earning a spot in the NCAA Division II Playoffs. That team was also second nationally in total defense leading to Kirkland earning the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year Award at season’s end.
Kirkland spent five seasons at West Virginia, where he worked under Rodriguez. He spent time on both sides of the ball, with the majority coming on defense. He led the Mountaineers to a win over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl as the defensive secondary coach and led WVU to the Gator Bowl as the fullbacks and tight ends coach.
He also spent time as WVU’s Director of Recruiting.
Before his time at WVU, Kirkland was the Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator at Glenville State, where his defense was consistently one of the best in the nation.
A native of Akron, Ohio, Kirkland also spent two years as the secondary coach at Muskingum University in which he had four all-conference players in the secondary.
He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from Muskingum College where he was a first-team all-conference defensive back after leading the conference in interceptions.
