RICHMOND, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW)- Five years after leaving Lexington for a job at Georgia State, Brian Landis is returning home for the first time as a college football coach this weekend. Landis is now the defensive coordinator for West Georgia and is in his first season in Carrolton. He’ll be on the sidelines in Richmond when the Wolves face…
RICHMOND, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW)- Five years after leaving Lexington for a job at Georgia State, Brian Landis is returning home for the first time as a college football coach this weekend.
Landis is now the defensive coordinator for West Georgia and is in his first season in Carrolton.
He’ll be on the sidelines in Richmond when the Wolves face the Colonels of Eastern Kentucky.
In the stands, Landis will have several people there to watch him. Landis’ reunion with the Bluegrass will be short, but sweet.
Back in the Bluegrass
“It’s great to come back because I have so many friends up there, people I worked with, people who I care about and family,” said Landis. “Just a lot of really great people.”
Inside Roy Kidd Stadium, Landis will have a much anticipated reunion with EKU Head Coach Walt Wells. The pair worked together at Eastern and Kentucky in the mid 2010s.
“You know what you’re going to get with Walt. He’s front and center. He’s going to tell you how he feels. He’s going to have his guys ready because he’s an offensive line guy. O-line guys are tough,” said Landis.
Connections to the Colonels and Cats aren’t the only ties to the Bluegrass for the Landis’.
Once Upon a Tiger
Brian was a standout defensive player at Georgetown College where he earned Defensive Player of the Game honors in the 2000 NAIA Championship. After graduating and a short arena football stint, he coached for the Tigers for a decade.
“All those guys I worked with at Georgetown and a lot of the guys I played with are still in Lexington,” said Landis, who gave praise to his old head coach Bill Cronin.
“I played for him and worked for him. The lessons you learned from him were how to be a class act, how to manage people, how to be in front of a room, but more importantly treating people the right way,” said Landis.
Starting from Scratch
Before Landis joined the college coaching ranks, his last job in Lexington was starting a football team at a new high school on the northside of town.
As the first ever head coach of Frederick Douglass, Landis led the Broncos to a 35-5 record and a 2019 state title game appearance in three seasons.
“The biggest thing I did was try to hire good coaches,” said Landis. “We lined our field ourselves and we cut the grass ourselves. I drove my truck into the grass so we could have power outlets to film practice. Three years later we’re playing for a state title. It was wild.’
Scouting the Colonels
The trip home is sentimental for Landis, but it’s also business. He says that his team is going to be ready for a tough Colonel team.
“You know what you get with Walt,” said Landis. “Both quarterbacks are really different. We expect a tough game.”