Owning over 15 years of collegiate coaching experience, Vinson Reynolds begins his third season at Arkansas State in 2024 as the Red Wolves’ defensive line coach and defensive run game coordinator.
Last season, Reynolds helped the defense post 6.8 tackles per loss per game, most for an A-State team since 2018. Defensive end Thurman Geathers earned Third Team All-Sun Belt honors after ranking second in the league with 42 pressures. Geathers finished the year with 12 tackles for loss, most by an A-State player since 2021. A-State was 5-0 when the squad accumulated 14 or more pressures and had a season-high 25 pressures at ULM.
In 2022, Reynolds helped the A-State defense become the most improved rush defense in the country allowing nearly 100 fewer rushing yards per game than the previous season. The Red Wolves allowed seven fewer points per game, 100 total fewer yards per game to improve 40 spots in the national rankings, their third down percentage defense improved from 41.4 percent to 36.4 percent to rank top-50 nationally. He guided Kivon Bennett to a second consecutive all-conference selection while TW Ayers was honorable mention all-conference at defensive tackle.
Reynolds spent the six seasons as the defensive line (2016, 2020-21) and defensive tackles (2017-19) coach at Syracuse, but his career path to A-State also included coaching positions at Western Michigan, Central Michigan, Central Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Wisconsin-Platteville. He was part of at least one bowl game at all four of his FBS stops.
When Reynolds arrived at Syracuse in 2016, he molded a young defensive line that featured future NFL Draft selection Chris Slayton and two freshman starters at defensive end. The results showed the following season, as his group of interior lineman contributed to a Syracuse defense that allowed 6.4 fewer points, 28.3 fewer rushing yards and 57.1 fewer total yards per game than the year before.
The growth of the Orange’s defensive line continued under Reynolds direction, helping the squad rank among the top 16 teams in the country in sacks during two different seasons. Their 2018 defense actually ranked in the top 10 nationally in five defensive categories, including turnovers gained (3rd), fumbles recovered (5th) and sacks (6th).
The performance helped spur Syracuse to a 10-3 record, a Camping World Bowl victory over West Virginia and a No. 15 ranking in the final AP Top 25 and AFCA Coaches Polls. Slayton flourished as the anchor of the front seven, earning an invitation to the East-West Shrine Bowl after the season before being drafted by the New York Giants.
In 2021, Syracuse ranked third in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and 16th nationally with over six sacks per game. Cody Roscoe was selected to the All-ACC First Team, while Josh Black earned honorable mention honors.
Reynolds joined the Orange after serving as the defensive line coach at Western Michigan from 2013-15. At WMU, he was part of a staff that engineered one of the most impressive turnarounds in FBS history. Reynolds and the WMU coaches transformed the Broncos from a 1-11 team in 2012 into a program that earned consecutive bowl berths in 2014 and 2015. The 2015 Broncos were 8-5 and defeated Middle Tennessee 45-31 in the Bahamas Bowl, the first bowl victory in school history.
In 2014, Reynolds directed a Western Michigan defensive line that recorded 17 of the team’s 29 sacks. The unit was part of a Bronco defense that finished third in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in points allowed per game. Reynolds also was recognized for his recruiting prowess that year. Rivals.com named him to its list of the top 10 recruiters from schools outside the Power Five and American Athletic Conference. That year Reynolds helped solidify, what was at the time, the website’s highest ranked class (No. 58) in MAC history.
Prior to his stint in Kalamazoo, Reynolds mentored the defensive linemen at Central Michigan where he helped the Chippewas to a win over Western Kentucky in the 2012 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. The group included Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills defensive end Leterrius Walton, who was selected in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
Before making the move to CMU, Reynolds was the defensive line coach at Central Oklahoma in 2010. He also previously worked as a graduate assistant and defensive quality control coach at Oklahoma State for head coach Mike Gundy. Oklahoma State made appearances in the 2008 Holiday Bowl and 2010 Cotton Bowl while Reynolds was on the OSU staff.
Reynolds started his coaching career in 2006 as the defensive line coach at Division III University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
In addition to his collegiate experience, Reynolds has completed two NFL internships. In 2015, he gained critical coaching skills and perspective with the Baltimore Ravens under John Harbaugh. During the summer of 2016, Reynolds worked with head coach Chuck Pagano and the staff of the Indianapolis Colts.
A Detroit, Michigan native, Reynolds played his college football at Northern Illinois from 2000-03. He was named to the All-MAC First Team at defensive end as a senior after totaling 76 tackles, including 15 for a loss, and six sacks.
Reynolds earned his undergraduate degree from Northern Illinois in 2004. He received his master’s degree in adult education from Wisconsin-Platteville in 2007.
Reynolds and his wife, Cynthia, have three sons – Eric Coley, Josiah Reynolds and Jeremiah Reynolds.
