Rockets Add Eli Rasheed to Football Staff
3/4/2009 5:00:00 AM | Football
TOLEDO - University of Toledo head coach Tim Beckman announced the appointment of Eli Rasheed to the Rockets' football staff as the defensive line coach. With the addition of Rasheed, Beckman's coaching staff is now complete.
Rasheed spent the past five seasons as the defensive tackles coach at Florida Atlantic. Prior to that, Rasheed had a successful high school coaching career as an assistant at Venice (FL) High School and head coach at Booker (FL) High School.
"Eli comes from a great program with Coach (Howard) Schnellenberger at Florida Atlantic," said Beckman. "They built that program extremely fast. To have two bowl wins in just four seasons at Division I-A level is pretty remarkable. I had a chance to coach against Florida Atlantic when I was at Oklahoma State and I liked Eli's demeanor on the sidelines. I liked his intensity."
Rasheed grew up in Indianapolis and played football at Indiana from 1991-95, participating in bowl games in 1991 and 1993. He got his start in coaching at Venice (FL) High School, working as an assistant from 1996-2000 and again from 2002-03. He helped the Indians capture the Florida 5A state, regional and district championships in 2000 and 2002. Venice also captured the 1999 District Championship, as well as 6A regional and district championships in 2003. In between his stints at Venice, Rasheed was the head coach at Booker (FL) High School, leading the Tornadoes to a 6-5 record in 2001.
Rasheed joined Florida Atlantic University's staff in the 2004 season, and began molding a defensive line that would eventually lead FAU to back-to-back bowl victories in 2007 and 2008. In 2007, the Owls went 8-5 and defeated Memphis in the New Orleans Bowl, 44-27. This past season, FAU posted a 7-6 record and finished the season with a 24-21 win over Central Michigan in the Motor City Bowl.
Eli Rasheed's Coaching History
2009: Toledo - Defensive Line
2004-08: Florida - Atlantic Defensive Tackles
2002-03: Venice (FL) High School - Assistant Coach
2001: Booker (FL) High School - Head Coach
1996-2000: Venice (FL) High School - Defensive Line
