Years In Coaching: 18th
Years at USF: 2nd
Alma Mater: South Florida, 2009
Family: Wife: Tiffany
Hometown: Cocoa, Fla.
Birthdate: Feb. 11, 1986
Twitter: @CoachJamesRowe
Playing Experience
2005-07: South Florida (Baseball) – Pitcher & Outfielder
NOTABLE:
• Five seasons of experience coaching in the NFL
• Defensive backs coach for 2018, 2019, & 2022 East-West Shrine Bowl
• Played baseball at South Florida (2005-07), as a left-handed pitcher and outfielder
• First-team all-state baseball player & third-team all-state football player at Cocoa High School
Bowl Experience as a Coach
2023 Boca Raton Bowl - USF
2020 Myrtle Beach Bowl – Appalachian State
2015 Citrus Bowl - Florida
James Rowe was named the Bulls defensive pass game coordinator/safeties coach in January of 2023, returning the former USF baseball player and graduate to Tampa to join head coach Alex Golesh’s first USF staff.
A Cocoa, Fla. native, Rowe returned to USF after serving a season as a defensive backs coach with the
Chicago Bears (2022) and having previously logged 17 seasons as a football coach, including five in the NFL. Rowe is a 2009 graduate of USF and was a three-time letterman on the Bulls’ baseball team as a pitcher and outfielder.
In his first season at
USF, he helped USF produce 12 team and 16 individual records as the Bulls capped the biggest turnaround in program history (a six-win improvement) with a 45-0 rout of Syracuse in the Boca Raton Bowl. USF finished 12
th nationally and second in The American collecting 24 turnovers, including 14 interceptions to rank No. 19 in the FBS statistics. The Bulls four defensive touchdowns on the year ranked No. 8 nationally and USF stood No. 7 posting 7.5 tackles for loss per game as nickel back Daquan Evans led the Bulls with 14 TFL on the year.
Prior to joining the Bears, Rowe served as cornerbacks coach at
Indianapolis Colts (2021) for one season. Rowe assisted with a Colts defense that finished second in the league with 33 takeaways. The team tied for the league high in fumble recoveries (14) and tied for third in interceptions (19). Rowe coached cornerback Kenny Moore II, whom he also coached at Valdosta State in 2016 while serving as the team's defensive coordinator.
He helped Moore II become the first Colts cornerback named to the Pro Bowl since Vontae Davis in 2015.
Before his season in Indy, Rowe spent a year at
Appalachian State (2020), coaching cornerbacks. He was one of 56 candidates nationally for the Broyles Award that honors college football’s top assistant coaches. The Mountaineers led the nation in passes defended (74, counting 15 interceptions) and lowest completion percentage allowed (48.0) in 2020. Starting cornerbacks Shemar Jean-Charles and Shaun Jolly formed the nation's No. 1 FBS cornerback duo, according to Pro Football Focus College, with both receiving All-America recognition from Phil Steele. Jean-Charles led the nation with 16 PBUs and 17 passes defended, while Jolly broke up six passes and fellow cornerback Steven Jones logged two interceptions – a 34-yard return for a touchdown against Troy and a 63-yard return against North Texas in the bowl win.
Rowe spent the previous three seasons on staff with the NFL’s
Washington Redskins (2017-19) as assistant defensive backs coach. In 2019, Washington cornerback Quinton Dunbar was among the NFL’s top interception artists, while in 2018 Rowe helped oversee a defensive backs group that was one of the best in the league in forcing turnovers. The Redskins finished the season with 15 interceptions, which was tied for the ninth-best mark in the league. Cornerbacks Josh Norman and Fabian Moreau and safety DJ Swearinger each had three forced fumbles and were all tied for the second-most forced fumbles caused by a defensive back that season. In his first year in Washington in 2017, Rowe helped the DBs unit produce the team’s strongest season against the pass in nearly a decade, ranking third in the NFL in completion percentage allowed (57.6 percent), ninth in passing yards allowed per game (213.8) and 10th in opponent passer rating (81.0).
Rowe served a season as defensive coordinator at Division II powerhouse
Valdosta State (2016), helping the Blazers to an 8-3 record. Among Division II schools, his defense led the nation with 27 interceptions and ranked fifth in the country in opposing team’s pass efficiency, limiting opposing quarterbacks to a 96.2 passer rating. Under Rowe’s guidance, Valdosta State safety Kenny Moore earned first-team All-America honors from the AFCA.
Rowe spent one season as a defensive graduate assistant at the
University of Florida (2015). The Florida defense ranked No. 8 in scoring defense, No. 6 in total defense and No. 11 in pass defense, while Rowe assisted in the development of All-America defensive backs Vernon Hargreaves, Marcus Maye and Teez Tabor and first-round NFL draft pick Keanu Neal.
For three seasons Rowe served in a variety of coaching capacities at
Jacksonville University (2012-14). He began his tenure assisting with the team’s defensive backs in 2012, adding the wide receivers to his purview in 2013 and eventually being promoted to defensive coordinator in 2014.
Rowe began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant at
Bethel (Tenn.) University in 2011, helping the Wildcats finish the year ranked No. 14 in the NAIA poll.
A native of Cocoa, Fla., Rowe began his coaching career at his alma mater,
Cocoa (Fla.) High School. He was the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach for four seasons (2007-10).
As a student-athlete at South Florida, Rowe lettered three times as a member of the Bulls’ baseball team playing for coaches Eddie Cardieri and Lelo Prado. After majoring in business administration, he earned his bachelor’s degree from USF in 2009.
Rowe married his wife, Tiffany, in July 2019. His brother, David, is a coach at Rutgers University. His father, James Rowe, Jr. played basketball at Florida Tech and coached boys basketball at Cocoa (Fla.) High School for 24 years, winning over 400 games and 2009 boys state championship before retiring in 2018.
Year-by-Year
2023- USF Defensive Pass Game Coordinator/Safeties Coach
2022 Chicago Bears Defensive Backs Coach
2021 Indianapolis Colts Cornerbacks Coach
2020 Appalachian State Cornerbacks Coach
2017-19 Washington Redskins Assistant Defensive Backs Coach
2016 Valdosta State Defensive Coordinator
2015 Florida Graduate Assistant
2014 Jacksonville Defensive Coordinator
2013 Jacksonville Wide Receivers Coach
2012 Jacksonville Defensive Backs Coach
2011 Bethel University (Tenn.) Graduate Assistant
2007-10 Cocoa High School Offensive Coordinator
