What You Need to Know:
* Rick Minter, former head coach at Cincinnati and long-time defensive coordinator, is the Panthers' new defensive line coach.
* Minter is one of seven former offensive or defensive coordinators among the Panthers' nine full-time assistant coaches.
* John McDonell, formerly the offensive line coach at Tulane, has joined the staff as senior offensive analyst.
ATLANTA -- Adding two veteran staff members who each bring more than 30 years of coaching experience, Georgia State head coach Trent Miles announced the addition of Rick Minter as defensive line coach and John McDonell as senior offensive analyst.
Minter is the former head coach at Cincinnati who was also a long-time defensive coordinator at several FBS programs, including Notre Dame, South Carolina and Kentucky. Most recently he was the linebackers coach for the Philadelphia Eagles.
McDonell is long-time collegiate assistant coach, including stops at Washington State, Stanford, Notre Dame and Purdue. He comes to GSU after four seasons as the offensive line coach at Tulane.
"We are thrilled to be able to add Rick Minter and John McDonell to our staff," Miles said. "Not only are they experienced coaches with tremendous track records, but they are outstanding people who will be role models for our young men.
"These additions will help us take another step forward as we try to compete for a Sun Belt championship."
RICK MINTER
Assistant Coach - Defensive Line
Rick Minter, a long-time defensive coordinator and the former head coach at Cincinnati, was named Georgia State's defensive line coach in April 2016.
Most recently, Minter spent the last three seasons in the National Football League, coaching linebackers for the Philadephia Eagles.
In his 10 seasons as the head coach at Cincinnati (1994-2003) as the program transitioned to Conference USA, he led the Bearcats to six seasons of .500 or better, four bowl berths and a conference co-championship.
In addition to his tenure at Cincinnati, Minter served 17 years as a defensive coordinator, including two stints at Notre Dame in 1992-93 and 2005-06 as well as stops at Ball State, South Carolina (2004), Marshall (2008-09) and Kentucky (2011-12).
He also served as the interim head coach at Marshall in 2009 and coached the Thundering Herd to a victory in the Little Ceasars Bowl.
Minter began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Henderson State University, his alma mater, in 1977, and Arkansas in 1978. His first full-time coaching position was as the defensive ends coach at Louisiana Tech in 1979. He then coached linebackers at NC State (1980-82) and New Mexico State (1984) before becoming assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Ball State from 1985-91.
In his first stint as defensive coordinator at Notre Dame, Minter helped the 1993 Fighting Irish squad to an 11-1 record and a No. 2 final ranking. When he returned, Notre Dame's 2005 team also earned a top 10 national ranking.
In 2010, Minter was the linebackers coach for Trent Miles at Indiana State.
A native of Nash, Texas, Minter earned his bachelor's (1977) and master's degrees (1978) from Henderson State.
He has two sons, Josh, and Jesse, who is entering his fourth season as Georgia State's defensive coordinator.
JOHN McDONELL
Senior Offensive Analyst
College coaching veteran John McDonell joins the Georgia State staff as a senior offensive analyst after four seasons as the offensive line coach at Tulane.
His 30-plus years in coaching have included stops at Washington State, Stanford, Notre Dame and Purdue. He previously worked with GSU head coach Trent Miles at Stanford (2001) and Notre Dame (2002-04), and he was on the same Washington State staff with receivers coach Tim Lappano from 1989-92.
In his tenure at Tulane, McDonell helped the Green Wave to a bowl berth in 2013, one of 10 bowl trips during his career.
McDonell (pronounced MAC-dun-ell) began his college coaching career at Weber State, where he spent five years (1984-88), highlighted by a conference title and No. 10 national ranking in Division I-AA in 1987.
From there, he went on to a 12-year stint under Mike Price at Washington State, and he helped the Cougars to three bowl berths, including the 1997 Rose Bowl.
In 2001, McDonell moved to Stanford, where he also coached in 2005, with a three-year stop at Notre Dame in between. He then coached at Purdue (2006-08), Bowling Green (2009), Memphis (2010) and Idaho (2011).
Among the offensive linemen he has helped develop are Rimington Trophy finalist and first-round NFL draft pick Jeff Faine at Notre Dame, another first-round selection at Purdue in Dustin Keller, and All-American Eric Heitmann at Stanford.
McDonell earned his bachelor's degree in social science in 1981 from Carroll College, where he was a three-time all-conference player and an NAIA All-American as a senior. He was inducted into the Carroll College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994.
A native of Spokane, Wash., he and his wife Mindy have one son, Michael, and one daughter, Megan.
