Blair Cavanaugh

Biography

Last Updated: Feb. 5, 2026 Twitter: @CoachCav10 Blair Cavanaugh was named Special Teams Coordinator and Running Backs Coach in June 2025. Cavanaugh came to Ohio by way of Incarnate Word, where he served as the special teams coordinator from 2022-24. In 2025, Cavanaugh coached All-MAC First Team selectee Sieh Bangura. In his senior season, Bangura rushed for 1,243 yards, the sixth-best mark in Ohio program history. Notably, Bangura is just the fifth Bobcat in program history to log two 1,000-plus rushing yard seasons. Sophomore Duncan Brune was also a force to be reckoned with in 2025, logging 585 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns across 13 games. He recorded his first career 100-yard rushing game against NIU (Oct. 18). Under Cavanaugh, Ohio had the best rushing offense in the MAC with 2,956 total yards. As a special teams unit, Ohio led the MAC in average yards per punt return with 13.3 and ranked second in total kickoff yards with 4,162. Incarnate Word's 2024 special teams squad was ranked No. 2 among FCS teams by Hero Sports and No. 10 by Pro Focus Football (PFF). Notably, the 2022 squad led the Southland Conference in punt return averages and punt return touchdowns, finishing the season with three punt return touchdowns. Cavanaugh arrived at UIW from Syracuse, where he supported multiple units as quality control before serving as the special teams coordinator for the 2021 season. The 2021 team finished third in the conference in kickoff average and landed two athl