Jimmy Lake facts for kids
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | December 17, 1976 |
| Place of birth | Walnut Creek, California, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| College | Eastern Washington (1995-1998) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Regular season | NCAA: 7–6 (.538) |
James Paul Lake (born December 17, 1976), known as Jimmy Lake, is an American football coach. He was most recently the defensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons in the National Football League (NFL). Before that, he was the head coach for the Washington Huskies college team from 2020 to 2021. Lake has coached at both the NFL and college football levels, mainly working with defensive backs. He played college football as a strong safety at Eastern Washington from 1995 to 1998.
Contents
Early Life and College Football
Jimmy Lake was born in Walnut Creek, California. His father was in the U.S. Air Force, so his family moved often. They even lived in places like Turkey and the Philippines.
Lake went to North Central High School in Spokane, Washington. He was a talented athlete, playing football, basketball, and baseball. He was also a good student.
After high school, Lake played college football at Eastern Washington University from 1995 to 1998. He played as a strong safety. He was recognized as a team captain and was named to the All-Big Sky Conference Academic Team. After graduating in 1999, he worked briefly as a graduate assistant coach.
Coaching Journey
Lake started his full-time coaching career in 2000. He returned to Eastern Washington as their defensive backs coach. He stayed there until 2004.
First Time at Washington
In 2004, Lake joined the University of Washington in Seattle as their defensive backs coach. This was his first time coaching at the highest level of college football, known as the Football Bowl Subdivision. After one season, the head coach and staff were let go. Lake then moved to Montana State University in 2005.
Coaching in the NFL
After the 2005 season, Lake got a job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the National Football League (NFL). He worked as an assistant defensive backs coach. He then moved to the Detroit Lions in 2008 as their defensive backs coach. After one season with the Lions, he returned to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
Boise State Broncos
In 2012 and 2013, Lake coached at Boise State. He was the defensive backs coach and also helped coordinate the passing game.
Return to Washington Huskies
Lake came back to the Washington Huskies in 2014 as a defensive backs coach. This was his second time coaching for the team. In 2016, he was promoted to co-defensive coordinator.
On December 2, 2019, the head coach, Chris Petersen, announced he would step down. Jimmy Lake was chosen to become the new head coach for the Huskies. He led the team for the 2020 and 2021 seasons. In November 2021, Washington decided to part ways with him.
Los Angeles Rams and Atlanta Falcons
On February 16, 2023, Lake was hired by the Los Angeles Rams as their assistant head coach.
On January 29, 2024, Lake was hired as the defensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons. He joined head coach Raheem Morris in Atlanta, whom he had worked with before at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Los Angeles Rams. On January 11, 2025, the Falcons announced that Lake was no longer their defensive coordinator after one season.
Head Coaching Record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Huskies (Pac-12 Conference) (2020–2021) | |||||||||
| 2020 | Washington | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1st (North) | |||||
| 2021 | Washington | 4–5 | 3–3 | 5th (North) | |||||
| Washington: | 7–6 | 6–4 | |||||||
| Total: | 7–6 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
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