Don Mion, who joined the UAlbany football staff in spring of 1997, is in his 17th season as a defensive coach. He will assist with the linebackers for the fourth straight year after working with the secondary the prior four seasons. Mion had previously been a high school head coach for 11 years in the Capital Region.
Under his direction, linebacker Jon Morgan, a two-time first-team All-NEC honoree, signed a free agent NFL contract with the Detroit Lions after the 2012 season, as the Great Danes won their sixth Northeast Conference title.
Mion previously served as UAlbany's defensive line coach over an eight-year period. The unit accounted for 22 sacks and 66 tackles for a loss in 2003. The Great Danes were also ranked eighth nationally in rushing defense at 104.5 yards per game.
Mion, 60, guided Shaker High School in Latham, New York, to four Section II playoff appearances, including the 1986 and 1990 seasons when each club posted a 7-2 record. Prior to being installed as head coach, Mion was an assistant at Shaker for six years. In addition, he was a UAlbany graduate assistant in the mid-1970s and an assistant coach at both Syracuse and Mohonasen high schools.
Mion received his B.A. in social studies with a minor in education from UAlbany in 1975, and went on to earn his master's degree in the same discipline. A two-sport athlete in football and wrestling, Mion was inducted into the University's Athletic Hall of Fame in the fall of 2001. He is among the school's all-time tackles leaders with 271 and owns the record for single-game tackles, recording 24 against Alfred on Sept. 28, 1974.
Mion, a graduate of Colonie Central High School in New York, was a scholastic head wrestling coach at Shaker and Syracuse. He and his wife, Sharon, have three daughters, Katie, Sara and Emily.
