| John Van Dam | |
| Current Team: | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| Position: | Pass game assistant |
| Birth Date: | 18 August 1984 |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 3 |
| Weight Lb: | 225 |
| High School: | Okemos (MI) |
| College: | Michigan State (2003–2007) |
| Undraftedyear: | 2008 |
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John Van Dam (born August 18, 1984) is an American football coach and former player who is a pass game assistant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans and has previously coached the Augustana (South Dakota) Vikings, Alabama Crimson Tide, Michigan Wolverines, Florida Gators, Southern Illinois Salukis and Lafayette Leopards.
Van Dam was born on August 18, 1984, and grew up in East Lansing, Michigan.[1] He attended Okemos High School where he was a member of the football, lacrosse and track and field teams.[1] He played quarterback and outside linebacker in football and had 179 passing yards and 11 tackles as a senior.[1]
Van Dam was a walk-on quarterback with the Michigan State Spartans, where his father had been an assistant coach.[2] He played five seasons for Michigan State and backed-up several future National Football League (NFL) players, including Nick Foles, Drew Stanton, Brian Hoyer and Kirk Cousins.[1] [3] He appeared in one game each in his freshman, sophomore and junior years for the Spartans.[1]
Van Dam began his coaching career with the Augustana Vikings (South Dakota) in 2008, serving for two seasons as a graduate assistant and tight ends coach before moving to wide receivers coach in 2010, a position he remained in through 2011.[4] He helped Augustana reach consecutive Mineral Water Bowls in 2008 and 2009 and they made their first playoff appearance in over 20 years in 2010.[3]
After his stint at Augustana, Van Dam served two years as a graduate assistant for the Alabama Crimson Tide and helped them win a national championship.[3] He followed Doug Nussmeier to the Michigan Wolverines in 2014, being named an offensive quality control assistant.[5] [6] The following year, Van Dam served as assistant quarterbacks coach and offensive quality control assistant for the Florida Gators.[7] He became offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Southern Illinois Salukis in 2016, helping them have a top offense in the conference in his two years there.[3] [8] He then was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Lafayette Leopards for one season in 2018.[3] [9]
In 2019, Van Dam moved to the professional ranks and was hired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an offensive quality control coach.[3] He helped them win Super Bowl LV in 2020 and received a promotion to assistant tight ends coach in 2021.[3] [10] He was promoted to head tight ends coach in 2022.[11] He was among the candidates the team interviewed for their offensive coordinator position in 2024.[12]