Army promotes Daryl Dixon to defensive coordinator, Sloan bumped up
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Head coach Jeff Monken wasted little time to find a replacement for Army football defensive coordinator Nate Woody, replacing him with a pair of familiar faces.
Daryl Dixon, who has coached the past 10 seasons on Monken’s staff, was promoted to primary defensive coordinator. Also, Scot Sloan – who recently rejoined the Army staff – has been named co-defensive coordinator and will also work with the safeties.
Dixon’s promotion will provide crucial continuity for a staff that lost six-year defensive coordinator Nate Woody to the University of Cincinnati this week.
“West Point has been home for my family and me for more than 10 seasons,” Dixon said. “Coach Monken gave me an opportunity back in 2016, and I am forever grateful for the trust he has placed in me and for empowering me along the way. I am humbled to step into this role and eager to lead our defense while continuing the standard of playing tough, physical, fundamentally sound football.”
Army football: Dixon a familiar face
At West Point, Dixon served as outside linebackers coach from 2016-18, moved to cornerbacks from 2019-22 and added defensive pass game coordinator duties the past three seasons.
Dixon, now 45, played four seasons as a defensive back for the University of Florida, starting in 25 of 49 appearances and serving as team captain as a senior – he was a Southeastern Conference all-star in 2003. He played two seasons with the Indianapolis Colts (2004-05) and saw action in NFL Europe. He was an assistant coach at Illinois for three seasons (2006-08) and seven seasons at Ball State (2009-15), where he coached outside linebackers, cornerbacks and safeties with the Cardinals.
“Daryl has earned and worked for this opportunity,” Monken said. “He knows what it means to coach at West Point, understands our culture, and has earned the respect and trust of our players. Daryl possesses an NFL pedigree and has proven results leading and developing players in our secondary. I am excited to see him lead our defense and continue to build on the standard of toughness and discipline we expect in our program.”
Sloan re-joined the Army staff last week after serving as defensive coordinator at Samford University – he was interim head coach for the final two games of the 2025 season. He also was D.C. at Appalachian State in 2023-24. Sloan was co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Army in 2022; was D.C. at Georgia Southern from 2018-21; and coached at App State the first time from 2010-17.
kmcmillan@th-record.com
X / Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army football makes changes to defensive staff
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