ITHACA, N.Y. – David Archer '05, the Roger J. Weiss '61 Head Coach of Football, has introduced his first coaching staff. The new group will lead the Big Red into spring practice and the upcoming 2013 season.

Joining the Big Red football staff as Associate Head Coach and The John B. and Ann M. Rogers '45 Defensive Coordinator will be Jared Backus, formerly the defensive coordinator at Princeton, while the offensive coordinator will be Jason Houghtaling, who manned the same position at Wagner. Shane Hurd will be an assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach after serving as head coach at Union-Endicott HS, Archer's alma mater. Greg Jones joins the Big Red staff as the secondary coach after a season as defensive coordinator at Kenyon College, and Mike Neuberger will be the running backs/tight ends coach after spending the last two years at Columbia and Georgetown.

Backus spent the last three seasons as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Princeton after three seasons as defensive line and linebackers coach at Temple. He also served as defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator for three seasons (2003-05) at Bucknell University and has stops at Maine, Pace, Lebanon Valley, Rutgers, Springfield and King's College. His 2012 defense ranked in the top 20 nationally in rushing defense, scoring defense, sacks and red zone defense while sitting in the top 30 in tackles for loss. He was also instrumental in the development of Bushnell Cup Award winner Mike Catapano, an All-American defensive lineman. While at Temple, he was part of the 2009 team that went 10-3 and earned the school's first bowl bid in 30 years. That squad ranked in the top 20 nationally in forced fumbles, passes defended, rushing touchdowns allowed, opponents rushing yards per carry, sacks, turnovers and rushing defense. Backus is a 1993 graduate of Springfield College and earned his Master's in Physical Education there in 1998. He was a two-year letter winner at his alma mater while playing inside linebacker.

Houghtaling spent the last two seasons as offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at Wagner where his offense had the fewest giveaways in the FCS and ranked 34th nationally in rushing in 2012 on its way to an NEC champion and the FCS playoffs. He also had spent four years as an assistant coach at Wagner before one season as head coach at Hudson Valley Community College (2010). Houghtaling began his career coaching at Milford Academy and Windsor HS. A 2004 graduate of Binghamton, he earned a Master's in Education from Wagner in 2009.

Hurd spent eight seasons as head coach at Union-Endicott where he developed 31 collegiate players, including seven who went on to play Division I football. Two of those athletes reached the NFL. His teams won five sectional titles and a regional championship while posting a .675 winning percentage. Hurd served as the offensive coordinator for the New York team in the 2005 Governor's Bowl (New York vs. New Jersey) and served as head coach at the 2009 Ernie Davis Senior All-Star Game.  A 1998 graduate of Canisius with a degree in social studies education, he was a first-team All-American as a senior after leading Division I-AA in interceptions per game. He was a two-time first-team all-league pick.

Jones, a two-time captain and first-team All-Patriot League pick as a senior linebacker at Bucknell, directed a defense that allowed just 18.0 points and 306.7 yards per game in 2012. The team ranked among the top quarter of all Division III teams in rushing defense, scoring defense, total defense and tackles for loss. He previously had been defensive backs coach at Rhode Island and linebackers coach at Wilkes. He also has done extensive work with special teams.

Neuberger spent a year at Georgetown after working with tight ends at Columbia in 2011. He was also a graduate assistant at Maryland the previous two years while working with running backs and the offensive line. He started his coaching career at Dayton, where he spent two seasons as an assistant and  two years as a student assistant coach and strength and conditioning assistant at his alma mater. Neuberger played four seasons at Dayton and was part of two league championship squads and a 2002 Division I-AA mid-major national championship. He graduated in 2005 with a degree in education and allied professions.

In addition, assistant coaches Travis Burkett (assistant head coach/defensive line), Emani Fenton (recruiting coordinator/inside linebackers) and David Hanna (special teams coordinator/wide receivers) have all been retained, while longtime assistant Pete DeStefano will move into a role as Director of Player Personnel, Alumni, Community and Career Programs. Burkett will be in his seventh season as an assistant on the Cornell staff, while both Fenton and Hanna will be opening their second campaigns. DeStefano takes over a newly created position that will assist in the development of the student-athletes in all facets of their lives. He is uniquely qualified as the longest tenured assistant coach in Cornell football history who brings unrivaled institutional knowledge to the position.