Tom Brattan is entering his third season at Ave Maria University. Most recently, Coach Brattan served as the offensive line coach for the University of Illinois in 2014 and 2015. Prior to that, he served 13 seasons as the offensive line coach for the University of Maryland. His time at Maryland was marked with great success as several of his players went on to play in the NFL (for example, in 2012, six of his former linemen were on NFL rosters).
Prior to coming to Maryland, Coach Brattan served as the offensive line coach in charge of centers and guards at Stanford University (1999 and 2000). His lines have been routinely praised for their ability to pass protect, which was on display in 1999 when Stanford quarterbacks were only sacked 15 times despite attempting 385 passes.
Before his stint at Stanford, Coach Brattan helped preside over Northwestern's rise to national prominence. He accepted the position as offensive line coach in 1992. In 1995, the Wildcats won the Big Ten Championship for the first time in 47 years. They finished the season ranked No. 7 in the nation with a 10-2 mark. Prior to that season, Northwestern had had 23 consecutive years without a winning season. The Wildcats won the Big Ten Championship again in 1996.
Coach Brattan took his first full-time collegiate job as the offensive backfield coach at William and Mary in 1983. In 1984, he was promoted to offensive coordinator (and offensive line coach), serving in that capacity until 1991. During that span, William and Mary advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs three times.
Directly prior to coaching at William and Mary, Coach Brattan served as the head coach at Highland Springs High School in Virginia for four seasons, a place where he had served as the offensive line coach from 1973 to 1975. Coach Brattan also served as the head coach at Lloyd C. Bird High School in Virginia and McKean High School in Delaware. Coach Brattan got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Delaware, in 1972. Coach Brattan had played center for Delaware.
