John L Clarke joined the AU football coaching staff in 2016, serving as a consultant in the first year. In 2017, Clarke will be taking on the responsibility of coaching the outside linebackers.
Clarke was hired as Head Coach of the Loyola University Chicago club football team, which was resurrected after a 41-year hiatus. During his 4-years as Head Coach, Clarke was also the Defensive Coordinator of the team, with his unit being in the Top 3 Takeaways and Sacks twice. For one year, he also served as Offensive Coordinator, which netted them the #1 rushing offense in the entire nation. His efforts earned him the National Club Football Association (NCFA) Coach of the Year honors in 2014. During his tenure, fourteen of his players were selected as NCFA Academic All-Americans and nine as NCFA All-Americans.
Clarke also coached at North Park University (NPU), where he was the team’s defensive back coach and pass game coordinator and helped guide them to their best record in 6 years. That year, a first-time starter at strong safety was the lone NPU defensive player selected to the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) All-CCIW team.
Clarke was also the defensive coordinator for three years at the Semi-Professional level, with his defenses being ranked in the top 2 in takeaways, defensive scores and sacks for two of those years.
Clarke played collegiately at Millikin University where he was a defensive back and helped Millikin win two CCIW Conference titles. He graduated from Millikin in 2001, with a degree in communications and a minor in English-journalism.
He is married to wife Kelly (nee’ Duggan) and they have twins, Ava Lin and Jack.
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