Washington Spirit rehire former coach Mark Parsons on a one-year contract. Parsons has been serving as assistant head coach under Kevin Dineen and Steve Spurrier.
He will have complete control of the club for the coming season.
“We’re excited to get John Parsons back on the Spirit.” Coach Dineen said. “After his experience with Mark at Florida, I’m excited to have him on the coaching staff.”
Parsons will work with the defense and is expected to work hard to improve the defense under a new scheme. He has an interesting background that spans many years across the country.
In 2002, Parsons became the head football coach of the Georgia Southern Eagles. In 2006, he helped lead the Eagles to victory over the University of South Florida in the American Athletic Conference Championship game.
In 2007, he led the Eagles to become bowl game contenders by winning six games in a row. The Eagles would go on to get to the Final Four.
In 2008 and 2009, Parsons helped turn into bowl game contenders, once again. The Eagles would go on to win back to back bowl games. The Eagles eventually went to the national championship game.
Parsons worked in an NFL front office as a member of the Minnesota Vikings personnel staff for three years after his tenure at Georgia Southern. He was part of the staff that helped turn the Minnesota Vikings into a Super Bowl Champions in 2010.
In his time in Minnesota, Parsons helped shape the roster into a team that would go on to win the Super Bowl in 2015.
Parsons worked as the defensive coordinator at Southern University in 2002. Prior to his time in Tallahassee, Parsons became the head football coach at Georgia Southern. He started as the Eagles program was in its first year after a previous head coach, Mark Mangino, was fired in 1999.
During his time with Georgia Southern, Parsons would lead the Eagles to their first ever bowl game in 2000. He also coached the Eagles to a school record of 12 wins and one loss before he was fired in 2004.
Following his time as the head coach at Georgia Southern, Parsons