Lewis & Clark College

Daniel Fields joined the Pioneers as the program's new Defensive Coordinator in January of 2023. He worked with the team's linebacks for his first two seasons and will coach the team's defensive linemen starting with the 2025 season. 

In his first two seasons with the program, he has helped Lewis & Clark take giant steps forward towards becoming a top-four defense in the Northwest Conference. He works with the team's linebackers and serves as the team's Camp Director. He is in charge of the team's recruiting in Hawaii and Southern California. 

During the 2024 season, Fields helped Lewis & Clark hold three opponents to 21 points or less, including a 35-7 win over Willamette University on Senior Day. The Pioneers finished the season fifth in the NWC in scoring defense (33.0 points per game), tied for second in forced fumbles (eight) and fifth in fumble recoveries (five). As a unit, they ranked 56th in NCAA DIII in red zone defense (71.2%). Senior linebacker Justin Hope was named to the Northwest Conference Second Team at the end of the season.  

Fields helped lead Lewis & Clark to their first top-four finish in the Northwest Conference since 2011. In his first season leading the defense, Fields integrated a number of young players into starting roles and the unit as a whole made improvements throughout the season. The Pioneers held opponents to 24 points or less in three contests, including limiting Willamette University to just seven points in a week two win. The seven points allowed were the fewest by a Lewis & Clark team since the 2010 season when Lewis & Clark shutout Pacific University. Fields coached three players to their first career All-Conference honors. Sophomore safety Thomas Reagan was named to the Northwest Conference Second Team and senior linebackers Justin Hope and Silas Ticeson each were named to the Honorable Mention Team. 

Fields comes to the Pioneers after spending the past decade at Division I UCLA. He played three seasons as a wide receiver for the program, before graduating and becoming a member of the Bruins coaching staff. 

Over the past seven year, Fields has held a variety of roles at UCLA and has worked his way up from Assistant Recruiting & Operations Coordinator to a Defensive Analyst working with the Defensive Coordinator and the Inside Linebackers coach this past season. He has a deep knowledge of both sides of the ball, after spending his first three years as a coach working on the offensive side of the ball: one year each as an Assistant Recruiting & Operations Coordinator, Offensive Coach’s Assistant and Offensive Recruiting Analyst. 
 
Under former NFL and University of Oregon coach Chip Kelly, Fields shifted his focus to defense. He was named a Defensive Graduate Assistant in February 2018.  In his new role, he worked directly with inside linebacker coach Don Pellum and also assisted with special teams. 
 
In March of 2020, Fields’ responsibilities shifted and he began to work with defensive coordinator Jerry Azzinaro and the team’s outside linebackers and defensive ends. He worked with Azzinaro and current Navy head coach Brian Newberry to build a new defensive scheme over the offense. He ran drills in practice for the team’s edge rushers and outside linebackers and ran the team’s daily offensive scout meetings and special teams scout team operations. On gamedays, Fields was charged with coaching the team’s strongside linebackers on in-game adjustments. 
 
He was promoted to Defensive Analyst in March of 2022. He worked directly with defensive coordinator Billy McGovern and inside linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr and took on an expanded role. He helped build the defensive playbook, ran player meetings and walkthroughs and was charged with scripting offensive plays during the week. On gamedays, Fields worked directly with McGovern on personnel, tendencies and in-game adjustments. 
 
Fields graduated with his bachelor’s from UCLA in December of 2016 and his Masters in Transformative Coaching and Leadership in December of 2021.