Elliott names Cox, Lamb to complete football coaching staff

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia football coach Tony Elliott announced today the hiring of Curome Cox and Taylor Lamb to complete the UVA coaching staff. Cox will serve as the Cavaliers’ defensive backs coach and defensive passing game coordinator while Lamb will coach the Virginia quarterbacks.

Curome Cox

Cox spent the past two seasons as the defensive backs coach at Air Force. He joins John Rudzinski on the Cavaliers’ staff, who was recently named UVA’s defensive coordinator after working the last 14 seasons at the Academy, including the past four seasons as the Falcons’ defensive coordinator.

This past season, Air Force went 10-3 and defeated Louisville 31-28 in the SERVPRO First Responders Bowl. Air Force shared the Mountain West Conference’s Mountain Division title with a 6-2 league mark.

The Falcons finished the 2021 campaign fourth in the nation in total defense, allowing just 296.5 yards per game, was ninth in rushing defense (102.2 ypg.) and was 19th in passing yards allowed (194.4 ypg.). Air Force’s top three tacklers all came from Cox’s secondary players. The trio of free safety Trey Taylor, defensive back Tre Bugg and strong safety Corvan Taylor accounted for 182 total tackles, six interceptions and 19 pass defenses.

In 2020, Cox’s first season at the Academy, two of the team’s top three tacklers came from the secondary. That defense ranked No. 3 nationally in scoring defense (15.0 ppg.) was No. 6 in total defense (303.3 ypg.), No. 5 in passing yards allowed (166.8 ypg.) and No. 4 in red zone defense (.692).

Cox coached four Falcons who received postseason all-star invitations including Bugg who played in the 2022 Hula Bowl.

A standout defensive back at Maryland who went on to play 43 NFL games with the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans, Cox coached at Connecticut from 2017-18, where he also mentored the Huskies’ defensive backs.

Cox coached both defensive backs and special teams at Coastal Carolina from 2013-2017, helping the program to Big South Conference championships in 2013 and 2014. In 2016, Coastal led all of the Football Championship Subdivision in interceptions.

Cox started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Maryland for two years beginning in 2010. As a player, Cox was part of Terrapin squads that played in the 2002 Orange Bowl, 2003 Peach Bowl and 2004 Gator Bowl. In the Peach Bowl, he returned an interception 54 yards for a touchdown. Cox still ranks seventh on Maryland’s all-time list for career interceptions with 10.

Cox played three NFL seasons. First signed by the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2004, he was part of Broncos teams that won the 2005 AFC West Title and reached the 2006 AFC Championship Game. He started five games for the Broncos over those two seasons, recording two interceptions along with 46 tackles and five passes defended.

A standout special-teams player, he was a finalist for the 2006 AFC Special Teams Player of the Year Award. In 2007, he played in seven games with the Texans as part of one of the top kickoff return units in the league.

Taylor Lamb

Lamb joins the Virginia staff after working at Gardner-Webb the past two seasons. He coached the Bulldogs’ quarterbacks both years and served as the team’s offensive coordinator in 2021. Lamb previously served as a graduate assistant coach at South Carolina working with Gamecocks’ offense for the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

A dual-threat quarterback, Lamb had an exceptional career as the signal caller at Appalachian State. He finished his college career ranked first in Mountaineers’ history with 90 touchdown passes in 51 games (49 starts). He also ranked first in Sun Belt Conference history by the end of his time in Boone.

Lamb passed for nearly 10,000 yards (9,786), rushed for 2,008 yards and accounted for 113 total touchdowns. He finished his time at Appalachian State second to Armanti Edwards in the school’s record books with 11,794 yards of total offense and 36 wins.

As a senior he was named Offensive MVP of the Dollar General Bowl. It was the third of three consecutive bowl wins for Lamb as the Mountaineers’ quarterback.

Lamb was named Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year in 2014 after shattering several freshman passing records. He threw for 2,381 yards and 17 scores that season to start his career.

Lamb graduated from Appalachian State with a degree in physical education in December of 2017.

As a high school senior at Calhoun (Ga.) High, Lamb was named Georgia’s Gatorade Player of the Year and was rated as a three-star prospect by 247Sports.com. A MaxPreps second-team small school All-America selection that season, Lamb passed for 3,498 yards and 26 touchdowns as a senior under his uncle Hal Lamb. While at Gardner-Webb, he served on the staff with his cousin, Tre Lamb, who was the Bulldogs’ head coach.

Lamb’s father, Bobby Lamb, coached at Furman from 1986 to 2010 (the last eight years as head coach) and was the first head coach at Mercer University in 2011. He was named the first coach at Anderson University (S.C.) in 2021 for a program that will field its inaugural team in 2024.

Lamb and his wife, Halie, have a son named Cooper.

Staff Assignments

Here are the specific coaching assignments for the Virginia Staff:

Defense

• John Rudzinski – Defensive Coordinator / Defensive Backs
• Curome Cox – Defensive Backs / Defensive Passing Game Coordinator
• Kevin Downing – Defensive Tackles
• Clint Sintim – Linebackers
• Chris Slade – Defensive Ends

Offense

• Des Kitchings – Offensive Coordinator
• Keith Gaither – Running Backs
• Marques Hagans – Wide Receivers
• Taylor Lamb – Quarterbacks
• Garett Tujague – Offensive Line