Van Malone
Head Football Coach
BIRTHDATE: July 1, 1970
HOMETOWN: Houston, Texas
EDUCATION: B.S., Houston, 2002 (Social Science)
COACHING: Assistant Coach, Waltrip (Texas) High, 1999-02
Assistant Coach, Conroe (Texas) High, 2003
Assistant Coach, North Dakota State, 2003
Fellow, Detroit Lions, 2003
Assistant Coach, Western Michigan, 2004
Assistant Coach, North Texas State, 2005
Assistant Coach, Texas A&M, 2006-09
Assistant Tulsa, Tulsa, 2010-11
Assistant Coach, Oklahoma State, 2012-14
Assistant Coach, SMU, 2015-17
Assistant Coach, Mississippi State, 2018
Assistant Coach. Kansas State, 2019-25
Head Coach, Hampton, 2025-present
A proven builder of culture with 23 years of experience in the collegiate ranks --- 18 on the Power 4 level --- Van Malone was named the 23rd head football coach in Hampton history, on Dec. 12, 2025.
Malone came to Hampton after seven seasons as assistant head coach, pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach at Kansas State. During his tenure, the Wildcats posted a 53-34 (.609) record and earned five bowl invitations: the Liberty Bowl (2019), the Texas Bowl (2021), the Sugar Bowl (2022), the Pop-Tarts Bowl (2023) and the Rate Bowl (2024).
Malone tutored seven All-Big 12 cornerbacks while with the Wildcats and helped coach a defense that surrendered just 22.7 points per game over his last five seasons.
Part of the success of the Kansas State defense was forced turnovers, specifically interceptions. Kansas State accumulated 74 turnovers including 46 interceptions with 16 from Malone’s corners, ranking first among current Big 12 teams.
Recognized for his coaching expertise, Malone was named the 2017 National FBS Assistant Coach of the Year and was named the 2023 Big 12 Cornerbacks Coach of the Year by Our Coaching Network.
He was a second-round (57th overall) draft pick by the Detroit Lions and played for the Lions (1994-97), He then signed with the Arizona Cardinals before retiring due to injury. With the Lions, Malone was named Special Teams Player of the Week on six different occasions. His special teams play earned him Pro Bowl nominations in 1994 and 1995. The Lions reached the NFL playoffs in both 1994 and 1995. Malone was named the special teams captain and was awarded a game ball three times.
During his time with the Lions, Malone also served as a marketing intern with Reebok International and provided post-game analysis and commentary for Fox Television Sports as a co-host in Detroit (Fox2). He was a True Value NFL Man of the Year semifinalist and was called on by the club to speak to many organizations.
Malone began coaching in the high school ranks at his alma mater, Houston Waltrip, from 1999-02 and at Conroe High from 2002-03. He earned the Houston High School Coaches Association’s Assistant Coach of the Year in 2000 and was also honored by the Houston Police Department with the Lifesaver of the Year Award.
He moved to the collegiate ranks at North Dakota State. Coaching wide receivers, he helped lead the Bison to an 8-3 record and a No. 23 ranking under legendary coach Craig Bohl. After a season as a Fellow with the Detroit Lions, Malone moved to Western Michigan (2004) and North Texas State (2005).
He spent four years at Texas A&M as defensive backs coach, helping lead the Aggies to three bowl games. Working under Coach Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State, he helped lead the Cowboys to three bowl games as the team's defensive backs coach. He served as defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator at Tulsa for two highly successful seasons during which the Golden Hurricane appeared in two bowl games and posted an 18-8 two-year record. Malone was the defensive coordinator at SMU from 2015 to 2018 before moving to Mississippi State as a defensive assistant for the 2018 season. He spent the last seven years at Kansas State.
Beginning in 1997, Malone was a youth camp director and football coordinator at the Texas Sports Development Academy in San Antonio. He also co-founded and headed up the “New Beginnings,” a non-profit charity organization in Houston.
On a personal level, Malone was honored on two occasions in 2022. He was one of 12 coaches in the nation selected for the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches Coalition Academy. In addition, Malone and Kansas State quarterback Will Howard earned the Be the Match Champions Award from the Maxwell Football Club after the season for spearheading the Wildcats’ effort for the Be the Match national bone marrow donor program.
Malone's work may begin on the field, but he has also invested time to help others off the field. He is a member of the National Coaches Council for the Get In The Game/National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), helping organize donor drives. The drives have had a combined 1,000 people join the registry in which six individuals agreed to become donors and save lives.
Additionally, Malone is a co-author of Path For Coaches Volume 1 – Mentoring, a leadership-focused publication that has achieved Amazon Best Seller status in its category. That is just a small part of the recognition he has received for advocacy work in coach development and minority leadership advancement.
Malone was a four-year letterman (1990-93) at Texas, earning All-America honors and All-SWC accolades in 1993 as a defensive back his senior season. As a freshman in 1990, Malone earned Sporting News Freshman All-America honors as Texas won the Southwest Conference Championship.
A native of Houston, Texas, Malone earned his bachelor's degree in Social Science from Houston in 2002.
Malone and his wife Nedra have three sons, Van, Vaughn, and Vincent.
