Elgin native Huxtable lands 1st NFL job

  • Elgin native Dave Huxtable was hired this week as a senior defensive assistant coach by the Atlanta Falcons.

    Elgin native Dave Huxtable was hired this week as a senior defensive assistant coach by the Atlanta Falcons. Courtesy of Kent Gidley

 
Special to the Daily Herald
Updated 2/7/2023 9:39 AM

Elgin native and 1975 Larkin High School graduate Dave Huxtable, a career college football coach, has landed his first NFL job.

The Atlanta Falcons announced earlier this week they have hired Huxtable, 66, as a senior defensive assistant coach.

 

Huxtable, a 1979 Eastern Illinois alum, has been a college football coach for 43 years. He's coordinated defenses at Georgia Tech, North Carolina, N.C. State and Pitt, among other stops along the way, including being linebackers coach at Wisconsin in 2012 when the Badgers went to the Rose Bowl.

A 2017 inductee to the Elgin Sports Hall of Fame Huxtable was named national linebackers coach of the year in 2011 by Football Scoop.

He most recently spent the past two years as a defensive analyst under Nick Saban at Alabama.

Huxtable was the defensive coordinator for N.C. State all three seasons when new Falcons defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen was the defensive line coach and run game coordinator there.

Huxtable was also the DC at North Carolina when current Falcons head coach Arthur Smith was an offensive lineman for the Tar Heels.

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