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A.J. Christoff has spent four seasons and three stints on the coaching staff at Stanford, most recently returning as the team's defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach for the 2006 season. He was also Stanford's defensive coordinator in 1983 for one season before returning to The Farm for a pair of campaigns in 2003 and 2004 as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach. He spent the 2005 campaign as the secondary coach for the San Francisco 49ers.
Christoff has coached at 11 universities around the country, including stops at Pac-10 schools Oregon, UCLA and USC. He has been a defensive coordinator for 18 seasons at six schools - Idaho, Oregon, Stanford, Notre Dame, Colorado and Cincinnati. He has also been on the coaching staff at New Mexico.
His teams have appeared in 11 bowl games in the last 22 seasons. Christoff has been on the coaching staff at five different universities that have advanced to bowl games, including Notre Dame, Alabama, UCLA, Colorado and Cincinnati.
He was the defensive coordinator at Cincinnati in 2001 and 2002. His 2002 defensive unit ranked 21st in the nation in total defense and 20th in pass efficiency as Cincinnati went on to win the Conference USA championship. He helped the Bearcats to consecutive bowl games during his two seasons: the 2001 Motor City Bowl and the 2002 New Orleans Bowl.
Christoff coached the secondary at New Mexico for one season before becoming the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for three years at Idaho.
He spent six seasons on the coaching staff at Oregon, the first two coaching outside linebackers and the last four as the defensive coordinator. From there, he became the defensive coordinator at Stanford under Paul Wiggin in 1983.
Christoff spent two seasons in South Bend as the defensive coordinator at Notre Dame. He helped the Irish advance to the 1984 Aloha Bowl. After one season as the secondary coach at Georgia Tech, Christoff moved on to Alabama as the secondary coach, where he helped the Crimson Tide to three bowl games in his three seasons. The Tide played in the Hall of Fame, Sun and Sugar Bowls during Christoff's three campaigns on the staff.
In five years at UCLA as the Bruins' secondary coach, Christoff coached some of the top defensive backs in school history. His teams advanced to two bowl games, including the 1994 Rose Bowl when the Pac-10 champion Bruins played Wisconsin.
Christoff was the defensive coordinator at Colorado from 1995-98. His 1998 defense ranked 11th in the nation in total defense, fourth in pass efficiency defense and first in fewest touchdown passes allowed. The Buffaloes went to three bowl games during Christoff's tenure. After spending the 2000 season as the linebackers coach at USC, Christoff went to Cincinnati as the defensive coordinator.
A native of Ritzville, Washington, Christoff earned a Bachelor's of Science degree in Biology from Idaho and a Master's degree in health education from Oregon State. He and his wife, Susan, have two children: Rob, who is the defensive coordinator at Montana State, and Andrea, a doctor who lives in Sydney, Australia.
The Christoff File
| Full Name: | Andrew James Christoff |
| Hometown: | Ritzville, Washington |
| High School: | Ritzville |
| College: | Idaho (B.S., Biology) |
| Graduate Degree: | Oregon State (M.A., Health Education) |
| Wife: | Susan |
| Children: | Rob, Andrea |
| Playing Experience: | Idaho |
| Recruiting Regions: | Colorado, Orange County, San Diego |
Coaching Assignments
| New Mexico | Secondary |
| Idaho | Asst. Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator |
| Oregon | OLB/Defense Coordinator |
| Stanford | Defensive Coordinator |
| Notre Dame | Defensive Coordinator |
| Georgia Tech | Secondary |
| Alabama | Secondary |
| UCLA | Secondary |
| Colorado | Defensive Coordinator |
| USC | Linebackers |
| Cincinnati | Defensive Coordinator |
| Stanford | Defensive Coordinator/Secondary |
| San Francisco 49ers | Secondary |
| Stanford | Defensive Coordinator/Secondary |
Bowl Experience
| Notre Dame | Aloha Bowl | 1984 |
| Alabama | Hall of Fame Bowl | 1988 |
| Alabama | Sun Bowl | 1988 |
| Alabama | Sugar Bowl | 1990 |
| UCLA | Sun Bowl | 1991 |
| UCLA | Rose Bowl | 1994 |
| Colorado | Cotton Bowl | 1996 |
| Colorado | Holiday Bowl | 1996 |
| Colorado | Aloha Bowl | 1998 |
| Cincinnati | Motor City Bowl | 2001 |
| Cincinnati | New Orleans Bowl | 2002 |
Prominent Players Coached
| Steve Brown | CB | Notre Dame |
| Toi Cook | CB | Stanford |
| George Teague | CB | Alabama |
| John Mangum | CB | Alabama |
| Eric Turner | FS | UCLA |
| Matt Darby | SS | UCLA |
| Dion Lambert | SS | UCLA |
| Carl Greenwood | CB | UCLA |
| Shaun Williams | SS | UCLA |
| Ben Kelly | CB | Colorado |
| Damon Wheeler | CB | Colorado |
| Zeke Marino | LB | USC |
| Marcus Steele | LB | USC |
| Oshiomogho Atogwe | FS | Stanford |
| Leigh Torrence | CB | Stanford |
| Stanley Wilson | CB | Stanford |
Last Updated: December 11, 2006