University of Delaware Athletics
Delaware Mourns the Loss of Alum Bryan Bossard
10/17/2022 4:43:00 PM | Football
NEWARK, Del. – The University of Delaware athletic department mourns the loss of football alum and former assistant coach Bryan Bossard. Bossard, who played cornerback for the Blue & Gold from 1986-88, was on the UD coaching staff for four different stints and 12 total seasons as an assistant coach. He was in his first full season as the offensive coordinator at Delaware State.
Bossard was a three-year letterwinner for Tubby Raymond, leading Delaware with 122 tackles in 1988 which is the 11th-most in UD history, and the second most by a defensive back. He recorded 22 tackles against Navy, a mark that still ranks third all-time in program history, as a senior when he earned All-Yankee Conference Second Team honors. He earned his degree in agricultural business management from Delaware in 1989.
A Delaware native and standout at Dover High School, Bossard broke into the collegiate coaching ranks as a graduate assistant at Delaware in 1990. He made stops on the defensive side of the ball at Morehouse College (1991), West Chester University (1992 Spring) and Bucknell (1992-93) before returning to the Blue Hens in 1994. In his second stint at UD, Bossard helped lead Delaware to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, including a national semifinals appearance in 1997.
Following stops at Army (1999) and Wyoming (2000-01), Bossard returned for a third stint with the UD coaching staff from 2002-04. Serving as the wide receivers and returners coach, as well as the passing game coordinator, Bossard helped lead the Blue Hens to the 2003 NCAA I-AA (FCS) national title with a 15-1 mark and led the 2004 squad to a berth in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. During Delaware's championship season, the Blue Hens had three different receivers catch 50 passes or more.
Bossard also spent time at the FBS level with coaching stops at both Maryland (2005-07) and Pittsburgh (2008-09) where he coached the wide receivers and returners. While at Maryland, Bossard led two receivers to All-America honors, including Darrius Heyward-Bey who went on to be a first-round draft pick by the Oakland Raiders. He also coached Derek Kinder at Pitt who was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the seventh round.
After a four-year stint as the offensive coordinator at Bucknell, Bossard made his fourth stop in Newark where he returned as the wide receivers coach from 2014-16. In 2014, Bossard played a key role in the development of All-CAA First Team wide receiver Michael Johnson, who ranked among the CAA leaders with 78 receptions for 830 yards.
Bossard joined the staff at Delaware State prior to the 2020-21 Spring season, and he took over as the offensive coordinator midway through 2021. In the final two games of the fall 2021 season with Bossard calling plays, the Hornets averaged 27.0 points and 344.0 total yards, in addition to throwing seven touchdown passes. The DSU offense averaged 21.5 points per game through the first two games of the 2022 season before Bossard stepped down due to his illness.
