Central Michigan University Athletics
Football
Brandon Blaney
- Title:
- Offensive Quality Control
- Phone:
- (989) 774-3896
- Year at CMU:
- 2nd year at CMU
- Hometown:
- Lamar, Mo.
- Alma Mater/Year:
- Youngstown State/1999
- Experience:
- 29th year
Brandon Blaney is in his second season on the Central Michigan coaching staff and first as its Senior Offensive Analyst on head coach Matt Drinkall’s staff. Former head coach Jim McElwain originally hired Blaney as its Offensive Quality Control coach prior to the 2024 season.
Blaney has 29 years of coaching experience at both the collegiate and professional ranks after having coached in the National Football League, Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, and the Gateway Football Conference. Furthermore, Blaney has also won a pair of national championships as a part of the coaching staffs at the University of Oklahoma (2000) and Youngstown State University (1997).
Blaney is no stranger to the Mid-American Conference as he joined the Central Michigan Football program in March 2024 after serving four years at Eastern Michigan (2020-23) as its Co-Run Game Coordinator and Tight Ends Coach.
In 2022, the Eastern Michigan run game thrived as the Eagles ran for league-best 25 rushing touchdowns. The Eagles’ running attack produced a total of 1,830-yards, averaging 3.6 yards-per-carry and 140.8-yards-per game. Blaney’s tight ends also produced. In 2021, EMU’s offense was one of the best scoring units in the MAC regular season as it averaged 31.0 points per game and scored 372 total points on 46 touchdowns, 15 field goals, and 45 extra points. In total, 14 different Eagles scored touchdowns. Blaney mentored Thomas Odukoya at tight end as he was considered one of the most prolific blocking tight ends in the nation. Blaney also played a pivotal role in the development of a much-improved EMU offense in 2020. Offensively, EMU ranked No. 1 in the nation with a 100 percent red zone scoring clip (tied with Washington State), the Eagles produced points on 28-28 trips inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, a 22.5 percent improvement over the previous season’s efficiency.
Before coming to Ypsilanti, Blaney spent two years with Michigan as a senior offensive analyst within with the offensive line. The Wolverines tallied a 19-7 record in his two seasons in Ann Arbor, finishing ranked in the Top-25 in both campaigns.
Before joining the Michigan staff, Blaney was a defensive assistant for the Tennessee Titans (2015-17) and the offensive line coach at Iowa State University (2014-15). Under legendary defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, the Titans rallied from a 21–3 halftime deficit in the opening round of the 2017 NFL Playoff to defeat Kansas City 22–21 for the franchise’s first playoff victory since 2003. The Cyclone offense ranked in the top-50 nationally in passing yardage (248.4), as Blaney tutored a pair of All-Big 12 lineman in his first year in Ames. Center Tom Farniok and tackle Jacob Gannon both were honorable mention All-Big 12 picks in 2014. Farniok ended his career as a three-time honorable mention All-Big 12 selection for the Cyclones, starting 47 career games. Farniok was on the Rimington Award watch list and played in the 2015 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl. Additionally, Jake Campos and Oni Omoile each make their way to NFL practice squads.
In 2015, Iowa State featured the nation’s best freshman rusher (Mike Warren) with 1,339 yards, the fifth-best season total in ISU history and tops by an ISU rookie. In league games only, Warren led the Big 12 in rushing by averaging 131.7 yards per game. For his efforts, he earned First-Team Freshman All-American honors by the Sporting News, USA Today and the Football Writers Association of America.
Prior to his arrival in Ames, Iowa, Blaney spent the 2011 season serving as the Jaguars’ defensive quality control coach and was promoted to defensive assistant coach in 2012.
Blaney came to Iowa State with already strong ties to the Cyclone program and a wealth of experience and success in the Big 12. He was a mainstay at the University of Kansas during Mark Mangino’s run as head coach, serving under Mangino during his entire eight-year tenure at KU (2002-09).
The turnaround made by the Kansas football program upon the arrival of Mangino and Blaney is one of the most remarkable in college football history. The duo arrived in Lawrence and inherited a program that had just gone through six consecutive losing seasons. During the time Mangino and Blaney coached together, the Jayhawks enjoyed unprecedented success, the pinnacle of which was a 12-win season in 2007 that ended with a share of the Big 12 North title and an upset victory of No. 5 Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. Blaney served as recruiting coordinator, assistant offensive line coach and tight ends coach, as the two worked to build a prolific Kansas offense.
Working with the offensive line and tight ends, Blaney helped build a line that, in 2007, cleared the way for the nation’s second-best scoring offense (42.8 ppg) and eighth-best total offense (479.8), en route to tallying 64 touchdowns to only 46 punts.
Blaney also helped produce the top-three offenses in school history during his eight-year tenure with the Jayhawks. KU won back-to-back bowl games (2007 and 2008) for the first and only time in school history with Blaney on staff.
As a position coach, Blaney also experienced success placing players in the NFL. Derek Fine, a tight end under Blaney, was a fourth-round draft choice by the Buffalo Bills in 2008. Offensive tackles Adrian Jones (2004) and Anthony Collins (2008) were also NFL draft picks after being coached by Blaney at Kansas.
Prior to coming to Kansas, Blaney was on the coaching staff of two national championship teams, starting with his alma mater Youngstown State. Serving under Head Coach Jim Tressel from 1995-98, Blaney and the Penguins won the 1997 NCAA Division 1-AA national championship. Blaney was then hired by Oklahoma Head Coach Bob Stoops and served the 1999 and 2000 season as an offensive graduate assistant. In his second season with the Sooners, OU went undefeated and claimed the 2000 BCS National Championship. He was then hired back once again by Tressel at Ohio State University, where he coached during the 2001 season before moving to Kansas under Mangino.
Blaney is a 1999 graduate of Youngstown State University with a degree in education. He has a wife, Sarah and two sons, Max and Rex.
THE BLANEY FILE
Hometown: Lamar, Mo.
Family: Wife Sarah; two sons Max and Rex
Education
Bachelor of Science, Education, Youngstown State University, 1999
Coaching Career
Senior Offensive Analyst/Assistant to the Head Football Coach, Central Michigan University, 2025-current
Offensive Quality Control, Central Michigan University, 2024
Co-Run Game Coordinator/Tight Ends Coach, Eastern Michigan University, 2020-23
Senior Offensive Analyst/Offensive Line, University of Michigan, 2018-20
Defensive Assistant, Tennessee Titans, 2016-17
Offensive Line Coach, Iowa State University, 2014-15
Defensive Assistant, Jacksonville Jaguars, 2011-13
Recruiting Coordinator/Tight Ends Coach/Assistant Offensive Line Coach, University of Kansas, 2002-09
Defensive Graduate Assistant, Ohio State University, 2001
Offensive Graduate Assistant, University of Oklahoma, 1999-00
Offensive Graduate Assistant, Youngstown State University, 1999
Blaney has 29 years of coaching experience at both the collegiate and professional ranks after having coached in the National Football League, Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, and the Gateway Football Conference. Furthermore, Blaney has also won a pair of national championships as a part of the coaching staffs at the University of Oklahoma (2000) and Youngstown State University (1997).
Blaney is no stranger to the Mid-American Conference as he joined the Central Michigan Football program in March 2024 after serving four years at Eastern Michigan (2020-23) as its Co-Run Game Coordinator and Tight Ends Coach.
In 2022, the Eastern Michigan run game thrived as the Eagles ran for league-best 25 rushing touchdowns. The Eagles’ running attack produced a total of 1,830-yards, averaging 3.6 yards-per-carry and 140.8-yards-per game. Blaney’s tight ends also produced. In 2021, EMU’s offense was one of the best scoring units in the MAC regular season as it averaged 31.0 points per game and scored 372 total points on 46 touchdowns, 15 field goals, and 45 extra points. In total, 14 different Eagles scored touchdowns. Blaney mentored Thomas Odukoya at tight end as he was considered one of the most prolific blocking tight ends in the nation. Blaney also played a pivotal role in the development of a much-improved EMU offense in 2020. Offensively, EMU ranked No. 1 in the nation with a 100 percent red zone scoring clip (tied with Washington State), the Eagles produced points on 28-28 trips inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, a 22.5 percent improvement over the previous season’s efficiency.
Before coming to Ypsilanti, Blaney spent two years with Michigan as a senior offensive analyst within with the offensive line. The Wolverines tallied a 19-7 record in his two seasons in Ann Arbor, finishing ranked in the Top-25 in both campaigns.
Before joining the Michigan staff, Blaney was a defensive assistant for the Tennessee Titans (2015-17) and the offensive line coach at Iowa State University (2014-15). Under legendary defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, the Titans rallied from a 21–3 halftime deficit in the opening round of the 2017 NFL Playoff to defeat Kansas City 22–21 for the franchise’s first playoff victory since 2003. The Cyclone offense ranked in the top-50 nationally in passing yardage (248.4), as Blaney tutored a pair of All-Big 12 lineman in his first year in Ames. Center Tom Farniok and tackle Jacob Gannon both were honorable mention All-Big 12 picks in 2014. Farniok ended his career as a three-time honorable mention All-Big 12 selection for the Cyclones, starting 47 career games. Farniok was on the Rimington Award watch list and played in the 2015 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl. Additionally, Jake Campos and Oni Omoile each make their way to NFL practice squads.
In 2015, Iowa State featured the nation’s best freshman rusher (Mike Warren) with 1,339 yards, the fifth-best season total in ISU history and tops by an ISU rookie. In league games only, Warren led the Big 12 in rushing by averaging 131.7 yards per game. For his efforts, he earned First-Team Freshman All-American honors by the Sporting News, USA Today and the Football Writers Association of America.
Prior to his arrival in Ames, Iowa, Blaney spent the 2011 season serving as the Jaguars’ defensive quality control coach and was promoted to defensive assistant coach in 2012.
Blaney came to Iowa State with already strong ties to the Cyclone program and a wealth of experience and success in the Big 12. He was a mainstay at the University of Kansas during Mark Mangino’s run as head coach, serving under Mangino during his entire eight-year tenure at KU (2002-09).
The turnaround made by the Kansas football program upon the arrival of Mangino and Blaney is one of the most remarkable in college football history. The duo arrived in Lawrence and inherited a program that had just gone through six consecutive losing seasons. During the time Mangino and Blaney coached together, the Jayhawks enjoyed unprecedented success, the pinnacle of which was a 12-win season in 2007 that ended with a share of the Big 12 North title and an upset victory of No. 5 Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. Blaney served as recruiting coordinator, assistant offensive line coach and tight ends coach, as the two worked to build a prolific Kansas offense.
Working with the offensive line and tight ends, Blaney helped build a line that, in 2007, cleared the way for the nation’s second-best scoring offense (42.8 ppg) and eighth-best total offense (479.8), en route to tallying 64 touchdowns to only 46 punts.
Blaney also helped produce the top-three offenses in school history during his eight-year tenure with the Jayhawks. KU won back-to-back bowl games (2007 and 2008) for the first and only time in school history with Blaney on staff.
As a position coach, Blaney also experienced success placing players in the NFL. Derek Fine, a tight end under Blaney, was a fourth-round draft choice by the Buffalo Bills in 2008. Offensive tackles Adrian Jones (2004) and Anthony Collins (2008) were also NFL draft picks after being coached by Blaney at Kansas.
Prior to coming to Kansas, Blaney was on the coaching staff of two national championship teams, starting with his alma mater Youngstown State. Serving under Head Coach Jim Tressel from 1995-98, Blaney and the Penguins won the 1997 NCAA Division 1-AA national championship. Blaney was then hired by Oklahoma Head Coach Bob Stoops and served the 1999 and 2000 season as an offensive graduate assistant. In his second season with the Sooners, OU went undefeated and claimed the 2000 BCS National Championship. He was then hired back once again by Tressel at Ohio State University, where he coached during the 2001 season before moving to Kansas under Mangino.
Blaney is a 1999 graduate of Youngstown State University with a degree in education. He has a wife, Sarah and two sons, Max and Rex.
THE BLANEY FILE
Hometown: Lamar, Mo.
Family: Wife Sarah; two sons Max and Rex
Education
Bachelor of Science, Education, Youngstown State University, 1999
Coaching Career
Senior Offensive Analyst/Assistant to the Head Football Coach, Central Michigan University, 2025-current
Offensive Quality Control, Central Michigan University, 2024
Co-Run Game Coordinator/Tight Ends Coach, Eastern Michigan University, 2020-23
Senior Offensive Analyst/Offensive Line, University of Michigan, 2018-20
Defensive Assistant, Tennessee Titans, 2016-17
Offensive Line Coach, Iowa State University, 2014-15
Defensive Assistant, Jacksonville Jaguars, 2011-13
Recruiting Coordinator/Tight Ends Coach/Assistant Offensive Line Coach, University of Kansas, 2002-09
Defensive Graduate Assistant, Ohio State University, 2001
Offensive Graduate Assistant, University of Oklahoma, 1999-00
Offensive Graduate Assistant, Youngstown State University, 1999
Coach Drinkall Press Conf.
Sunday, October 05
Brock Townsend Press Conference
Sunday, October 05
Jordan Kwiatkowski Press Conference
Saturday, October 04
Football Insider - 10.2.25
Thursday, October 02
