Michael Downing joined the Missouri State staff in February 2023 as outside linebackers coach with duties added as co-special teams coordinator for the 2024 season.
In 2024, Downing’s group of outside backers, included stellar efforts from Dylan Simmons and Dylan Dixson who combined for 42 total stops. On special teams, the Bears landed All-Americans and first-team All-MVFC performers in punter Grant Burkett and long snapper Caden Bolz, while kicker Yousef Obeid was a consensus Freshman All-American
In his first season in Springfield in 2023, the Bears were 4-7 overall but two last-possession losses coupled with a solid November surge by MoState helped his group prepare for the future. The 2023 MSU defense ranked 40th nationally in interceptions (10) and 40th in tackles for loss per game (5.9) among the national field of 122 FCS programs. For Downing, his group also boasted an impressive cast of standouts on and off the grid, with Simmons earning 2023 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honors.
Downing spent the 2022 season at the University of Colorado where he was a quality control specialist for the defense, assisting specifically with the secondary on coach Karl Dorrell’s staff.
He came to Colorado from his alma mater, Texas Christian University, where he was a defensive graduate assistant from 2018 to 2021.  He had the distinction of being the first player hired by TCU head coach Gary Patterson immediately following his playing career.  His first year on the staff, the Horned Frogs defeated California in overtime, 10-7, in the Cheez-It Bowl.  TCU was to play Arkansas in the 2019 Texas Bowl, but it was canceled due to COVID.
Downing earned two degrees from TCU, his bachelor’s in Marketing in 2017 and his master’s in Liberal Arts in 2021.  He lettered three times at safety playing under Patterson for the Horned Frogs and led the Big 12 Conference in special team tackles in 2016 (13) and had one career interception.  In his four years on the roster, TCU was 40-13 overall; he had started his career at TCU as a walk-on but would earn a scholarship before his redshirt junior year.  TCU went bowling every year, defeating Ole Miss in the 2014 Peach Bowl, Oregon in the 2015 Alamo Bowl and Stanford in the 2017 Alamo Bowl in addition to a 2016 loss to Georgia in the Liberty Bowl.
A native of Alpharetta, Ga., Downing lettered in football and track at Alpharetta High and also played baseball. Â
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