Penn football announces defensive coordinator hire

Four days after officially taking over the reins of Penn football, head coach Ray Priore hasn’t waited long to put his own stamp on the program.

With the defensive coordinator position vacant after Priore’s promotion, Penn Athletics has confirmed that current Albany defensive coordinator Bob Benson will fill the same position with the Red and Blue.

“I’m thrilled to add someone of Bob’s experience to our staff,” Priore said in a statement. “We shared our first coaching jobs at Albany, and he has found success at every level since that time.”

“He is of outstanding character, a great family man and [an] excellent role model. I’m excited to be working with him again.”

Priore and Benson first worked together at Albany in the mid-1980s. Benson served as a graduate assistant for defensive backs for the Great Danes in 1986, the second season of Priore’s two-year stint as defensive backs coach.

“To have the opportunity to work with Ray again, and to be a part of the tradition of Penn football and the Ivy League, is very special to me,” Benson said. ”[Priore] helped build a tradition of winning at Penn, and to have a chance to help return the program to the top of the Ivy League is just a special opportunity.”

Following his initial work at Albany, Benson spent time as an assistant at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Johns Hopkins from 1988 through 1993.

He was hired as Georgetown’s head coach in 1993 and guided the Hoyas to new heights during his dozen years at the helm. Over the course of 12 seasons, he won 72 games, including a six-year stretch from 1994 through 1999 in which Georgetown went 44-17.

Perhaps most notably, Benson guided the Hoyas to eight wins in 1997 — the first time since 1940 Georgetown reached that mark. He was also named MAAC Coach of the Year following the 1997 and 1998 seasons.

Since leaving Georgetown in 2005, Benson has returned to his roots as a defensive guru. In 2006 and 2007, Benson spent two years as Towson’s defensive coordinator before taking over as the defensive signal caller at Colorado School of Mines from 2008 until 2013.

2014 marked Benson’s return to the program where it all began: Albany. In his first and only season as defensive coordinator in the Empire State, Benson helped the Great Danes defense rise from 102nd to 42nd in terms of total defense, a key factor in Albany’s six-win increase from 2013.

Now Benson is excited to help turn around Penn’s defense.

“Penn historically has played great defense, and all I want to do is try to make those improvements in a very diligent and well-thought manner,” he said. “That’s what I’ve always tried to do regardless of the situation.

“I’m just excited to be a part of this thing and to help Penn get back to the top of the Ivy League. If there’s one thing about me that you realize when you get to know me, I want to win and that’s why I’m sitting here.”

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