Daric Riley - Football Coach

Daric Riley

Title:
Cornerbacks
Email:
driley@uab.edu
Phone:
975-9536

Daric Riley was named the cornerbacks coach in February of 2022. Riley has been with the program since 2020 and was promoted to cornerbacks coach after serving as the Director of Player Relations for two seasons.

In two years since his arrival, the Blazers have an overall record of 15-7 and a conference record of 9-3. The Blazers also achieved their second Conference USA title in Riley’s first year and notched the program’s highest ranked victory in school history this past season with a 31-28 victory over No. 13 BYU in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl.

Before his arrival in Birmingham, Riley served as the nickels coach for Old Dominion for one year in 2019. Prior to his time at Old Dominion, he was the safeties coach at East Carolina for the 2018 season.

From 2015-17, Riley was the Quality Control Assistant/Special Teams at SMU. While with the Mustangs, Riley helped a unit which rated among the nation's best in blocked kicks with statistical ranks of seventh, 23rd and 11th in 2015, 2016 and 2017, respectively. He also was part of a SMU program which made a DXL Frisco Bowl appearance in 2017 before finishing with a 7-6 record.

This is Riley’s second stint at UAB after serving as the special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach under Bill Clark in 2014, a season in which the Blazers reached bowl eligible status for the first time in 10 years.

He served in a similar role for Clark at Jacksonville (Ala.) State during the 2013 campaign after spending the two previous years as secondary coach and special teams coordinator at Newberry (S.C.) College.

From 2007 to 2010, Riley worked as a defensive graduate assistant coach at Clemson under head coaches Tommy Bowden and Dabo Swinney and experienced postseason appearances in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Gator Bowl, Music City Bowl and Meineke Car Care Bowl as well as the 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Game.

Prior to assisting with the secondary and outside linebackers at Clemson, he was Truman (Mo.) State's defensive backs coach and had oversight of special teams from 2004 to 2006 after holding the same position during an earlier stint at Newberry in 2003.

Riley began his coaching career at alma mater Charleston Southern as a defensive graduate assistant (1999) and outside linebackers coach (2000) under David Dowd. As a player with the Buccaneers, he was a three-year letterman.

He then had stops at Fairfield (2000) and Pikeville (2001-03) before joining the staff at Newberry in 2003.

A native of Beaufort, S.C., Riley earned bachelor's degrees in psychology and physical education from CSU in 1999 before adding a master's in youth development leadership from Clemson in 2009.

Riley and his wife Kathy have two daughters: Dylan (5) and Olivia (3).

The Riley File:
2020-Present: UAB
2019: Old Dominion
2018: East Carolina
2015-17: SMU
2014: UAB
2013: Jacksonville State
2007-10: Clemson
2004-06: Truman State (Mo.)
2003: Newberry (Conn.)
2001-03: Pikeville (Ky.)
2000: Fairfield (Conn.)
1999-2000: Charleston Southern