NATCHITOCHES – One of Northwestern State's greatest football players and most successful defensive coordinators, Brad Laird, will return to the Demons' coaching staff as associate head coach and defensive coordinator.
 
NSU head coach Jay Thomas made the announcement Thursday afternoon. Laird will replace Daryl Daye, who served in that role in the last two years and is leaving coaching. Laird's hiring is pending approval of the University of Louisiana Board of Supervisors, which oversees nine state institutions including Northwestern State.
 
Laird will return next month to his alma mater from his high school alma mater, Ruston High School, where he averaged more than seven wins in four playoff seasons as head coach. He has also been the Bearcats' athletics director for the past two years.
 
His 2016 Bearcats were ranked sixth in Class 5A and became only the third RHS team since 1990 to win at least eight regular-season games.
 
Laird has been the Demons' DC twice before, for a total of seven years, under Scott Stoker (2003-05, 2008) and Bradley Dale Peveto (2009-11, when he and Thomas were on the defensive staff). He is the Demons' all-time career passing leader and was a 2015 inductee in the N-Club Hall of Fame, the university's highest athletic honor.
 
As a coach, Laird was running the Purple Swarm defense when NSU was second nationally in total defense (2004, 274.7 yards allowed pg) and ninth (2003, 287.3 ypg) and produced 75 turnovers from 2003-05, setting three NCAA records and leading the Southland Conference in total defense and rushing defense, also ranking highly in pass defense each season.  The Demons won their most recent Southland championship and made their last FCS playoff appearance in 2004.
 
"I'm extremely excited about this opportunity to come back to Northwestern, and work with a head coach I recommended for that job, a man I greatly respect, Jay Thomas. There wasn't any other offer that could have tugged us away from Ruston," said Laird. "The combination of coaching Division I college football, at a place that Renee and I love, and to team up with Jay again, was just overwhelming.
 
"At the same time, this was a gut-wrenching decision because I love Ruston High School and the Bearcat football program, and especially the young men I've had the privilege to coach here," he said. "This community has been so supportive, which I deeply appreciate, and that's one of the biggest reasons the future is so bright for the Bearcats. What an honor it's been to lead the Ruston football team and the RHS athletics program."
 
An All-State quarterback at Ruston, Laird was the 1991 Superdome Classic MVP for the Bearcats' unbeaten team that finished ranked No. 1 nationally by USA Today. While Ruston won a pair of state titles, Laird set school career passing records and was 30-1 as the starter. He was inducted in the Louisiana High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.
 
Laird holds the Demons' career passing record with 6,037 yards from 1991-95. He was named to NSU's Top 100 Demon Football Players roster during the centennial celebration for the program in 2007.
 
"(Wife) Renee and I met and fell in love at Northwestern, and fell in love with Northwestern. So many of the people who have been our best friends, and people who have had huge impacts on our lives, have been at NSU and in Natchitoches. This is a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us and our family. I truly appreciate the faith that Coach Thomas has in me as a football coach, and the level of commitment that he, (athletics director) Greg Burke, (vice president) Jerry Pierce and (NSU president) Dr. Jim Henderson have made to make this something I really wanted to do," said Laird.
 
The 43-year-old Laird spent his early days in Natchitoches when his late father, Billy Laird, was offensive coordinator for the record-shattering, NFL talent-laden Demons of the late 1970s and early 1980s under head coach A.L. Williams, when future pro stars like Bobby Hebert, Joe Delaney and Mark Duper shined for NSU.
 
Thomas and Laird worked together at NSU in 2010-11, with Laird running the defense and Thomas as defensive line coach following six seasons as head coach at Southland rival Nicholls. Thomas recently completed his fourth year as the Demons' head coach, getting the job after Laird, then a university administrator, was part of the advisory committee recommending him.
 
"The NSU campus community, the alumni, former players, going throughout our athletic department, people in Natchitoches, I am sure everybody is going to be excited about this news," said Thomas. "It was an extremely great phone call we got this morning and I'm very, very happy to have him back coaching the Demons.
 
"Being a graduate of Northwestern State, and one of the Top 100 players to line up for the Demons, Brad has the deepest possible bond with our program and university," said Thomas, who recalled watching film of Laird playing quarterback for Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame coach Chick Childress' Bearcats.
 
Thomas was an assistant coach at Nicholls when Laird played under Sam Goodwin at NSU, then was assistant and head coach at Nicholls as Laird was the Demons' defensive coordinator.
 
"After watching him (play and coach) for so long, while working together for two years on Coach (Bradley Dale) Peveto's (NSU) staff, we got to be really, really close. I have a ton of respect for the job he does – not just as a football coach, but a great dad and husband, a really good all-around guy," said Thomas.
 
Laird's coaching acumen blends with his experience recruiting Louisiana and east Texas, and his knowledge of state high school football enhanced during his time as Ruston's coach, to further strengthen his portfolio, said Thomas.
 
"Particularly in recruiting, it's immediate impact for us. He knows Louisiana high school football. He knows Northwestern," Thomas said. "He's known and respected around the state as a coaching competitor and as a recruiter."
 
Having worked with Laird, Thomas has an appreciation for the skill set that makes for a "great fit" with the current team and coaching staff. NSU will return 59 letterwinners, including 20 players who started at least once on defense in 2016. Defensive line coach Jake Landoll took a job in the private sector after the season ended, and safeties coach Adam Waugh, a volunteer assistant, is pursuing other coaching opportunities so won't be back with the Demons, said Thomas. Veteran defensive backs coach De'Von Lockett, a former NSU receiver who has been on the coaching staff for seven years, is expected back and has worked alongside Laird previously.
 
"Brad and I are very similar in defensive philosophy, we think along the same lines," said Thomas. "It will be a very smooth transition, a great fit with the players here, the coaches remaining on our staff. I've seen him in front of the team, commanding the room, and I've seen him on the field in practice and in games, how impressive he is. I know how he's going to call the game."
 
Laird left coaching in 2012 and served as director of university advancement, overseeing the NSU Alumni Association and the NSU Foundation, before his father retired as Ruston's football coach and he was wooed to fill the post. His father remained as Ruston's athletics director until his sudden passing in May 2015.
 
After his record-setting playing career at NSU, Laird coached on Goodwin's staff in 1996, then worked for Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame coach Don Shows at West Monroe High School in 1997, going on to coach at Ouachita High, Longview (Texas) High and Nashville (Ark.) High before joining Stoker's staff as defensive coordinator prior to spring practice in 2003.

Laird's wife Renee, an NSU graduate, is an educator. They have two children, Brianna (13) and Brock (10).