Dylan Roney enters his second season as outside linebackers coach for the Chargers in 2026 after beginning his time with the Bolts in 2024 as a defensive assistant, working with the outside linebackers. He came to Los Angeles after a three-season tenure at the University of Michigan as a graduate assistant, helping Head Coach Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines to three College Football Playoff berths and win the CFP National Championship following the 2023 season.
In his first season as outside linebackers coach in 2025, Roney coached the pass rushers to help the Bolts rank No. 5 in the NFL in both total defense (285.2 total net yards allowed per game) and passing defense (179.9 net passing yards allowed per game). The unit was also among football's most clutch, ranking inside the top five on third down (fifth) and in the red zone (fourth). Roney helped third-year outside linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu enjoy a breakout season, leading the Bolts with a career-best 13.0 sacks, 23 quarterback hits and 20 tackles for loss en route to his first career Pro Bowl nod and an All-AFC selection from the Professional Football Writers of America.
In addition to tutoring Tuipulotu, Roney helped outside linebacker Khalil Mack to 5.5 sacks on the season, including back-to-back games with a sack in Weeks 7 and 8 in his return from a four-week stretch on injured reserve. Mack joined Hall of Fame linebacker Kevin Greene as the only players to reach at least 35.0 sacks with three different franchises since the individual sack became an official statistic in 1982. Roney also helped onboard outside linebacker Odafe Oweh after trading for the former first-round pick in Week 6. Oweh totaled 7.5 sacks with the Bolts, the most by any player with a single team after having played in a game for another team earlier in the same season (since 1982). Oweh continued his success in the playoffs, where he set the single-game postseason franchise record with three sacks.
Roney contributed on a defensive staff in 2024 that coached the NFL's best scoring defense, allowing just 17.7 points per game. The Bolts also were the best in the NFL in the red zone, allowing touchdowns on just 45.0 percent of red zone drives. Roney worked with the outside linebackers, a group that totaled 25.5 sacks on the season and featured four different players post at least five sacks. He coached Khalil Mack (ninth of career) and Joey Bosa (fifth of career) to Pro Bowl selections, while second-year outside linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu led the team with a career-best 8.5 sacks, including an NFL-high six in November.
Over his three seasons at Michigan (2021-23) as a graduate assistant, Roney worked with the edge rushers, including eventual No. 2 overall draft choice Aidan Hutchinson during his unanimous All-American season in 2021. Roney helped coach the top-ranked defense in the country in 2023, allowing just 17 touchdowns on the year and averaging 247.0 total net yards allowed and 10.4 points allowed per game en route to a 15-0 record and a CFP National Championship.
Roney joined the Wolverines after working one season as a defensive analyst at the University of Illinois (2020) and a year as a defensive graduate assistant at Western Kentucky University (2019), primarily working with the defensive line for the Hilltoppers.
A native of Plymouth, Mich., Roney was a standout at Detroit Catholic Central, twice earning first-team All-State recognition. He went on to spend the 2015 season at the United States Naval Academy before transferring to Ferris State University for his final three years (2015-17). Roney helped lead the Bulldogs to three consecutive NCAA Division II Playoff appearances, including a run to the semifinals as a junior in 2016. Following his playing career, Roney broke into coaching, joining Ferris State's coaching staff for the 2018 season as a defensive line assistant/recruiting coordinator which saw the Bulldogs make an appearance in the NCAA Division II Championship Game.
