Ingram announces Defensive Staff - 1/21/2026
Backus comes to VMI from Cornell, where he served as the associate head coach and defensive coordinator since 2013. At Cornell, Backus developed and coached 28 All-Ivy League players as the Big Red defense ranked 32
nd in passing offense in 2017 and finished in the top 25 in first downs (6
th), third-downs (10
th), red zone (14
th), rushing (19
th), scoring (17
th), and total defense (21
st) in 2019. Among Backus' stops (Princeton, Temple, Maine, Rutgers) was Bucknell where he and coach Ingram were on the same staff in 2006, helping lead the biggest turnaround at the FCS level, taking a team from 1-10 in 20025 to 6-5 in 2006. Serving as the Bison's defensive coordinator, Backus coached all-conference players such as Sean Conover who would go on to spend three seasons with the Tennessee Titans and his 2004 unit was 24
th nationally in scoring defense.
At Temple (2006-09), Backus was part of a staff that posted a 10-3 record in 2009, earning the school its first bowl bid before heading to Princeton for the 2010 season. Serving as the defensive coordinator for Princeton, Backus drastically improved a Tigers defensive unit that would rank third in the nation in scoring defense, ninth in sacks and red zone defense, 17
th in scoring and rushing defense and 28
th in tackles for loss in his final season (2012) before his tenure at Cornell. One of Backus' other notable stops was the aforementioned Maine, in which the Black Bears won the 2001 Atlantic 10 Championship and made the FCS Quarterfinal. Graduating from Springfield College in 1993, Backus would add a master's degree in physical education in 1998. A two-year letterwinner at Springfield, Backus and his wife Amanda have two sons, Garrett and Gavin, and a daughter, Grace.
