Vance Bedford

Vance Juano Bedford (born August 20, 1958) is an American football coach who last served as defensive coordinator at the University of Texas at Austin for head coach Charlie Strong.[1] He was previously the defensive coordinator at the University of Louisville, where he also served under head coach Charlie Strong. He had served as defensive back coach at the University of Florida under Urban Meyer. He previously served as defensive backs coach under Lloyd Carr at the University of Michigan. He served in that same position for six seasons with the Chicago Bears, and also served two seasons as defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State University-Stillwater.

Bedford was born in Beaumont, Texas. He played high-school football at Hebert High School, where his father Leon Bedford was coach and he was an all-District player for the first all-black high school in Texas to win a University Interscholastic League state title.[2]

He played college football at the University of Texas at Austin where he was a four-year letterman and starter at cornerback as well as the defensive captain. He was a two-time All-Southwest Conference second team selection. He played in two Cotton Bowls and two Sun Bowls.[3] He set a then-Longhorn season record for pass breakups with 22 in 1981 and is currently in the top ten on UT's career pass breakup list (47). At the end of his senior year, he was named a Defensive Valuable Player in the 1982 Senior Bowl All-Star Game. He returned to Texas to receive his diploma in 1984.

Bedford was in the fifth round of the NFL draft. He played one season for the NFL's St. Louis Cardinals in 1982 and another for the USFL's Oklahoma Outlaws in 1984.