Bio
Jim Panagos is in his second season as the defensive tackles coach at Kansas after joining Lance Leipold’s staff on February 1, 2022.
The 2023 season was another step forward for Kansas Football as the Jayhawks had a two-win improvement in the regular season, finishing 8-4 to secure a winning record for the first time since 2008. The eight wins are the most by KU in the regular season since 2007 and the Jayhawks have claimed consecutive bowl berths for only the second time in program history.
In his first season at Kansas, Panagos assisted as the Jayhawks qualified for a bowl game for the first time since 2008 and reached the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since 2009. Kansas started the season 5-0 and hosted ESPN’s College Gameday for the first time in program history.
His veteran group finished with 9.0 sacks and 22.5 tackles for loss on the season. Following the year, Caleb Sampson signed as an undrafted free agent with the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.
Panagos came to Kansas with more than 20 years of collegiate and NFL coaching experience. He spent the past two seasons at Rutgers, coaching the defensive line. He has also coached the defensive line at Minnesota, Temple and UCF, in addition to spending four seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.
The 2009 FootballScoop National Defensive Line Coach of the Year and a former Broyles Award nominee, Panagos has coached more than 20 future NFL players during his time as a college coach.
In 2020 at Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights led the Big Ten and ranked No. 11 nationally in tackles-for-loss per game at 7.8. Three Rutgers defensive linemen earned honorable mention All-Big Ten in Michael Dwumfour, Julius Turner and Mike Tverdov. The Rutgers defense also forced 19 turnovers, which marked the program’s most in a season since 2012. This past season, Turner earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors again as the Rutgers defense totaled 73 tackles-for-loss.
Panagos spent the 2019 season at Minnesota, helping the Gophers to a 10-2 record and a spot in the Outback Bowl. Prior to that, the veteran defensive line coach spent two seasons at Temple, first as the defensive line coach and the second as the assistant head coach/run game coordinator. In 2018, Panagos helped the Temple defense rank among the top three nationally in defensive touchdowns, forced turnovers and fumble recoveries. The Owls also ranked second in the American Athletic Conference in total defense, passing defense and three-and-outs.
In 2017, Panagos earned a nomination for the Broyles Award, given to the nation’s top assistant coach annually. That season, the Owls recorded 39 sacks and 92 tackles-for-loss, while Sharif Finch (15.5 TFLs, 8.5 sacks) and Jacob Martin (11 TFLs and 8 sacks) had breakout seasons, each earning second-team All-AAC honors.
Panagos spent the 2016 season as a defensive consultant at Pittsburgh. Before that, he had his first stint at Ruters, leading the defensive line from 2012 to 2015. In his first season, the Rutgers defense finished fourth in scoring defense and 10th in total defense. Additionally, defensive tackle Scott Vallone had a career-high 52 tackles and earned first-team All-Big East honors.
In 2014, Panagos tutored defensive tackle Darius Hamilton and defensive end Kemoko Turay to all-conference honors as Rutgers transitioned to the Big Ten. Turay was a second-round draft pick of the Indianapolis Colts, and just finished his fourth season in the NFL and has 12 career sacks.
Before arriving at Rutgers, Panagos spent five seasons as the defensive line coach at UCF. He helped the program reach three bowl games, including a win in the 2010 Liberty Bowl over Georgia. In his first season at UCF in 2007, the Knights recorded 39 sacks, which ranked 15th in the country. In 2009, he was named the National Defensive Line Coach of the Year by FootballScoop, while Jarvis Geathers (11) reached double digits in sacks. Also that year, Torell Troup was a second-round pick of the Buffalo Bills.
In 2011, UCF’s defense ranked fourth in the country behind Florida State, South Carolina and Alabama.
Before his time in the college ranks, Panagos spent four seasons with the Minnesota Vikings as an assistant defensive line coach and defensive and offensive quality control.
He got his start in the coaching profession as a defensive line assistant at Maryland in 1993, where he graduated with a degree in criminal justice.
Panagos, a native of East Islip, N.Y., has a wife, Maureen, a daughter, Olivia, and two sons, Jack and Hayden.
