Football
- Title:
- Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers
- Hometown:
- St. Louis, Mo.
- Year at Mizzou:
- 2nd Season
- Alma Mater:
- Missouri, 1997
- Email:
- crossde@missouri.edu
Barry Odom added Mizzou alum and successful veteran coach DeMontie Cross to his staff as one of his first administrative moves once taking over the program. Cross serves as Mizzou's defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach. He oversaw the entire linebacking group in 2016, but will focus on the inside backers in 2017.
His linebackers had a challenging season in 2016, as a young and inexperienced group fought through injuries and inconsistent play. Midway through the season, the Tigers lost senior captain and three-year starter at MLB Michael Scherer, to a season-ending injury. That loss impacted the Tigers the rest of the season, but Cross and his troops rallied to finish the year strong, playing their best ball late as Mizzou won two of its final three games against bowl teams Vanderbilt and Arkansas. Following the 2017 NFL Draft, senior LB Donavin Newsom signed a free agent contract with the San Francisco 49ers.
Cross came home to Mizzou after spending the previous 18 seasons with numerous programs, including 12 years with Power 5 programs and five more in the National Football League. In all, he has been part of eight bowl teams and three conference championship teams since beginning his coaching days as a graduate assistant/outside linebackers coach at Mizzou for Larry Smith (1998-99).
Cross spent the 2013-15 seasons at TCU as linebackers coach, and in 2015 he added the duties of co-defensive coordinator.
TCU opened the 2015 campaign as the only school in the nation without a linebacker who had ever made a collegiate start. When the regular season ended, Cross had coached up converted safety Travin Howard to All-Big 12 recognition, while former high school quarterback Ty Summers was named the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week after his 23 tackles in a win over Baylor. Summers also received honorable-mention Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year accolades, as the Horned Frogs' defensive unit led the Big 12 and ranked 7th nationally in third-down defense, allowing opponents a conversion rate of only 28.0% on the season.
In the 2014 season, Cross' pupil Paul Dawson won Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and consensus first-team All-America honors. Dawson was the only player in the nation with at least 100 tackles, six sacks and four interceptions. Dawson (136) and Marcus Mallet (100) combined to make 236 tackles as TCU's starting linebackers in 2014. Dawson was a third-round draft pick of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Prior to TCU, Cross spent one year each as linebackers coach at Kansas (2012) and as special teams coordinator/safeties coach at Wisconsin (2011), the latter which featured an 11-3 season and Big Ten Conference title and Rose Bowl appearance for the Badgers, who finished that season ranked 10th nationally in the final polls.
"DeMontie is an outstanding addition to our staff," said Odom. "He's really established himself as one of the top defensive minds in college football, and he's had success at every stop he's been at over the years. I've witnessed him on the road recruiting, he's relentless and has done a great job of establishing meaningful relationships in a number of geographic areas. I know he'll be a great mentor and leader who will relate well with our guys. I expect DeMontie to bring some great ideas and concepts defensively to us that will build on what we've been able to do this past year. Obviously he has great enthusiasm, excitement and passion for Mizzou, and we're proud to have him back here," Odom said.
Odom and Cross were teammates for one year at Mizzou, when Cross was a senior free safety and Odom a true freshman linebacker in 1996.
"I'm so excited to have this opportunity to work with Coach Odom and contribute to a place that has given me so much," said Cross. "Mizzou is in my blood, it's the place that made me the man and the coach that I am today. It's also a dream come true for me to work alongside a guy I've known for so long. Coach Odom and I have had a strong bond on and off the field, and I'm excited to come in and support him and his vision in every aspect imaginable. I'm honored he's put his trust in me this way. Mizzou has already established a good reputation on defense, so all I'm looking to do is come in and put my own twist to it and try to make it even better. My players will know that a sense of urgency, attention to detail, and playing with enthusiasm and energy are the things that are most important to me. I think people enjoy watching a defense that plays that way," he said.
Cross spent five seasons (2006-10) in various positions with the NFL's Buffalo Bills. He joined the Bills as a defensive staff/special teams assistant in 2006 and was then promoted to assistant linebackers coach/special teams for three seasons, after which he was promoted again in 2010, taking over as the Bills' inside linebackers coach.
He made the jump to the NFL after spending the 2001-05 seasons as Iowa State's outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator. Cross' unit was a major contributor to the Cyclones' record-setting defenses and four bowl game appearances during his stint. He helped develop Jeremy Loyd into an All-Big 12 performer and future St. Louis Ram.
Cross spent the 2000 season coaching a defensive backfield at Sam Houston State that ranked second nationally in the FCS. The Bearkats' pass defense was led by free safety Keith Davis, who was the Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Davis went on to play six seasons and start 31 games for the Dallas Cowboys.
A St. Louis, Mo. native and 1997 Missouri graduate with a degree in business management, Cross was a standout safety for the Tigers from 1994-96. Despite playing at MU for just three years, Cross ended his career holding the school record with 415 career tackles (he now stands second on the list) after leading MU in stops as a junior (145) and senior (132). He was a second-team all-conference selection in both the Big Eight (1995) and the Big 12 (1996) conferences.
Cross enjoyed a standout prep football career at Hazelwood East High School in St. Louis, and initially attended Illinois on a football scholarship before transferring to Mizzou. Cross is married to Jessica and he has three daughters: Jadyn, Sheridan and Olivia.
