Derrick Foster enters his third season with the Chargers as the running backs coach, after coaching running back Austin Ekeler to lead the NFL in touchdowns in his first two seasons with the team.
Under the direction of Foster, Ekeler has totaled 38 regular-season scrimmage touchdowns (20 in 2021, 18 in 2022), ranking No. 1 in the NFL over that span and leading the league in each season, respectively. Ekeler added a pair of rushing touchdowns in the AFC Wild Card following the 2022 season, making him the seventh player in NFL history to register back-to-back seasons with 20 touchdowns (regular and postseason combined).
Ekeler set single-season career highs in 2022 with 1,637 yards from scrimmage, 13 rushing touchdowns, 915 rushing yards and 107 receptions. His 107 catches led all running backs ranked tied for No. 5 in the NFL in 2022, and were tied for the second-most by a running back in a single season in NFL history. Ekeler added five touchdown catches, giving him 29 for his career to tie for the most by a running back with a single team in the Super Bowl era (since 1966). He also led the NFL in 2022 with 843 yards after catch. In the Week 5 win at Cleveland, Ekeler set a single-game career high with 173 rushing yards, good for the fourth-best rushing performance in the NFL in 2022.
Foster helped coach an offense that ranked third in passing offense (269.6 net passing yards per game) and No. 9 in total offense (359.3 total net yards per game) in the NFL in 2022. Ekeler was one of an NFL-record six players on the team to top 500 receiving yards and three touchdown grabs in the same season. The Los Angeles offense paced the NFL with 112 third-down conversions and ranked No. 2 in the league with 2,542 yards after catch.
In 2021, Ekeler turned in a career year in 2021 under Foster's tutelage, as he tied for an NFL high with 20 scrimmage touchdowns, becoming the fourth Charger ever to have a share of the league lead in touchdowns for a season. His 20 scrimmage scores tied for the second-most by any Charger in a single season. The season also marked Ekeler's second with eight receiving touchdowns (2019), joining Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk (2000 and '01) as the only running backs in the common draft era (since 1967) with multiple seasons of eight-plus touchdown grabs. Ekeler scored nine touchdowns in primetime games, tying Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith (1995) for the second-most by any player in a single season in NFL history, training only Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss' 11 in 2007 with New England.
Foster's coaching helped the offense rank No. 4 in the NFL in total offense (390.2 net yards per game) and pace the AFC in passing offense (282.4 net passing yards per game). The unit scored 181 points in the fourth quarter, the second-most in a single season in NFL history. Los Angeles ranked fifth in the league in third-down efficiency (45.2 pct.) and paced the NFL with 22 fourth-down conversions and seven two-point conversions.
Prior to leading the running backs group for the Bolts, Foster spent three seasons as the University of Iowa (2018-20). Under Foster's direction as Running Backs/Offensive Recruiting Coordinator in 2020, sophomore back Tyler Goodson was a first-team All-Big Ten selection by both the media and conference coaches, becoming the first Iowa running back to earn first-team all-conference honors since 2008. Foster was instrumental in the recruiting aspect while at Iowa, serving as the program's offensive recruiting coordinator in his final two seasons. Former Iowa running back Makhi Sargent ran for 20 touchdowns under Foster for the Hawkeyes before playing with three NFL teams as an undrafted free agent in 2021.
Foster joined the Hawkeyes after a two-year stint at Samford University (2016-17). As run game coordinator/running backs coach, he was part of a staff that led the Bulldogs to two-straight Football Championship Subdivision playoff appearances. Prior to his time in Homewood, Ala., Foster coached three seasons (2013-15) at Northwestern State University. After coaching the running backs for the Demons 2013, Foster transitioned to directing the wide receiver group from 2014-15, developing some of the top receivers in program history. In 2014, eventual NFL pass-catcher Ed Eagan set the program's single-season receptions record with 73 catches under Foster's tutelage. In a game against McNeese State, Eagan set a program record with 238 receiving yards on a record-tying 13 receptions. Foster also tutored Bryant Mitchell, who went on to play for the Buccaneers and in the CFL.
In the two years following his playing career, Foster broke into the coaching ranks as an assistant coach at the University of Tennessee (2012) and Valdosta State University (2011). His focus was to assist the offensive coaching staff, particularly the running backs, and special teams units. During his lone season in Knoxville, Tenn., Foster worked alongside a pair of current Chargers coaches — Head Coach Brandon Staley and Defensive Coordinator Derrick Ansley.
Foster played running back and wide receiver at Southwest Baptist University. He started 41-of-44 career game appearances at wide receiver for the Bearcats, graduating in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in sport management. The Goshen, Ala., native went on to earn a master's degree in public administration from Valdosta State in 2013. Foster and his wife, Bianca, have two children — Cooper and Brielle.
