Joe DuPaix enters his eighth year at the Naval Academy over two different stints coaching the slot backs.
In 2021, Navy managed to have the ninth-best rushing offense in the country (225.5 yards per game) despite facing six of the top-35 defenses in the country, including three of the top 10. On top of the tough schedule, Navy had to start five different offensive tackles, five different guards and three different centers due to injury.Â
In 2019, Navy had one of the greatest seasons in school history, winning a school-record tying 11 games against just two losses, winning the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy, sharing the American Athletic Conference West Division title with Memphis and winning the prestigious Liberty Bowl. The Mids’ eight-game improvement from 2018 was the second-biggest turnaround in FBS history.
The Mids finished the 2019 campaign ranked 20th in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Polls. It marked just the second time in the last 56 years that Navy finished in the AP Top 20 (18th in 2015).
A big part of that success was a Navy offense that set school records for total rushing yards (4,687), rushing yards per attempt (6.1), rushing yards per game (360.5), total offense yards per game (455.8) and tied the record for total offensive yards per attempt (6.8). The Mids also led the nation in rushing. DuPaix’s slot backs did not lose a fumble all season (152 carries, 17 receptions).
The Mids were also prolific in the passing game, finishing second in the country in average yards per catch (22.51) and seventh in passing efficiency (176.92).
 DuPaix returned to Navy in the spring of 2018 from Southern Virginia University, where he was the head coach for two seasons. Prior to Southern Virginia, DuPaix was the recruiting coordinator and running backs coach at BYU for two seasons (2011-12). Working under then head coach Bronco Mendenhall, DuPaix was part of the staff that led the Cougars to an 18-8 overall record, including back-to-back bowl wins and a 10-win season in 2011.
DuPaix was the slot backs coach at Navy from 2008-10 and helped the Mids compile a 27-13 record, win two Commander-In-Chief’s Trophies, win a bowl game and post a 3-0 record against Army. Eight of the 13 losses during those three years came against teams from a Power Five conference. The 2009 team won a then school-record 10 games, won the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy and blew out Missouri in the Texas Bowl, 35-13. The Mids finished first in the nation in rushing in 2008 (292.4 yards per game), fourth in 2009 (280.5) and sixth in 2010 (284.8).
DuPaix’s collegiate coaching career began in 1998 as the quarterback coach at NCAA Division II University of Missouri-Rolla, before moving on to California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) in San Luis Obispo, California from 2001-07 where he served stints as the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator.
As a player, he was the starting quarterback and team captain for two years at Southern Utah University, where he set an NCAA FCS individual rushing record for yards by a quarterback (1,246 yards) during the 1996 season.
DuPaix transferred to SUU from Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, where he was an Honorable Mention Junior College All-American and the 1995 Real Dairy Bowl MVP, finishing the year with 2,482 passing yards and 832 rushing yards.
The Salt Lake City, Utah native played high school football for his father, Roger, at Skyline High School. As a senior, he was named the 1990 Utah State MVP (Class 4A) and led Skyline to its first state title of the 90’s.
DuPaix and his wife, Monica, have eight children: Madeleine, TJ, Jackson, Scott, Bryson, Cooper, Kennedy and Micah.
