The 2024 season will be the seventh for Dave Plungas as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at RMU. In addition to serving as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator, Plungas tutors the linebackers, constructs weekly game plans for defensive staff and student-athletes and recruits the areas of Northeast Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
"Dave knows the defenses I like and he knows the culture I want," head coach Bernard Clark, Jr., said. "He knows that our best defense has to be our base defense. He knows we’re trying to make it as simple as possible for our guys to play fast, physical and finish off plays. Dave is very detailed and very structured."
During the 2022 season, the Colonials ranked 33rd in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) in red zone defense, while linebacker Joe Casale was named to the 2022 All-Big South Second Team. Also earning All-Big South accolades in 2022 on defense for the Colonials was defensive back Sydney Audiger.
Plungas also has been instrumental in the development of linebacker Jamar Shegog, who was named to the 2020-21 HERO Sports Freshman All-America Team and after the 2021 fall campaign earned a spot on the 2021 All-Big South Second Team. Shegog was joined by defensive lineman Rico Watson in earning second team plaudits on defense in 2021.
In 2019, Plungas oversaw a defense that helped the Colonials post their first winning season since 2010 with an overall record of 7-5 (.583), including a mark of 6-1 (.857) in the Northeast Conference (NEC). Three Colonials earned All-NEC honors under the watchful eye of Plungas, including safety Mason Gray, linebacker Aniello Buzzacco and defensive back Heavon Price.
Gray and Buzzacco combined for 231 tackles in 2019, including an RMU single-season school record 131 from Buzzacco, who led the NEC and ranked fifth in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) with an average of 10.9 stops per game. Gray, meanwhile, tied an NCAA FCS single-game record by returning a pair of interceptions for a touchdown in a 41-21 victory over Duquesne at Joe Walton Stadium.
Prior to joining the staff at RMU, Plungas served as the outside linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator for three seasons at the University at Albany from 2015 to 2017. He oversaw the development of Eli Mencer, an All-Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) pick at linebacker. Mencer led the CAA and was third nationally with five forced fumbles in 2017.
Plungas helped mold the 2017 defense for the Great Danes into the ninth best in the nation. That squad ranked ninth in holding opponents to just 282.1 yards per game, a number that was bolstered by the country’s 15th rush defense (107.0) and 20th pass defense (175.1). The Great Danes finished 17th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 17.7 points per game, and finished in the top 20 in eight different categories in 2017. In addition, three Great Danes earned All-CAA honors.
In 2016, the Albany defense ranked first in the CAA with a +1.45 turnover margin and 32 total forced turnovers, leading to just 18.8 points allowed per game for second in the league. Three Great Danes earned All-CAA honors, including linebacker Michael Nicastro, who was named to the All-CAA First Team after finishing with 126 tackles and three fumble recoveries.
Prior to his coaching position at his alma mater, Plungas spent the 2013 and 2014 seasons as linebackers coach at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He helped the Engineers record an overall record of 5-5 (.500) in his first season in 2013 and an appearance in the ECAC North Atlantic Bowl in 2014.
Plungas, a native of Concord Township, Ohio, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in both communication and sociology at Albany in 2013 while also owning a minor of business administration. He appeared in 43 career games for the Great Danes at linebacker, compiling a career total of 246 tackles, including 97 solo takedowns. Plungas helped Albany win three NEC championships (2008, 2011, 2012) and earn the program’s first automatic bid to the NCAA FCS Playoffs in 2011.
Plungas’ wife, Traci, is an assistant volleyball coach at West Virginia University.
