Bucknell University Athletics
Football
- Title:
- Assistant Defensive Line Coach
Abdullah Anderson ‘18 joined the Bucknell football staff as an assistant defensive line coach in July 2026, bringing seven years of NFL playing experience as well as the background of being a Bison football athlete to the coaching staff.
Prior to coming back to Lewisburg, Anderson spent eight years in the NFL as a defensive lineman. The Bucknell alumnus played for seven teams over the span of those seven years including; Chicago Bears (2018-20), Minnesota Vikings (2020), Green Bay Packers (2021), Pittsburgh Steelers (2021), Atlanta Falcons (2022), Washington Commanders (2023) and Tennessee Titans (2021 & 2025).
While in the NFL system, alongside playing as a defensive lineman, Anderson gained valuable experience in coaching tactics. He prepared weekly game plans through extensive film study, opponent tendency analysis and scouting report review. As a defensive lineman he broke down OL stances, splits, run schemes, pass protections, OL tendencies, block recognition and self-scouting. Anderson also executed responsibilities within multiple defensive fronts and sub-packages, emphasizing gap integrity and rush lane discipline. He participated in position meetings, walk-throughs and practice installations at a professional standard within the NFL and applied coaching points related to get-off, hand usage, leverage and block recognition. He also collaborated with position coaches and coordinators to adjust techniques and assignments week-to-week and participated and executed various defensive fronts including; 4-3, 3-4, odd fronts and nickel and dime sub-packages. He also participated and executed various run defenses in the NFL including; 2 gap, gap and ½, get off disruption, movement patterns, leverage hands and disengagement, executed pass rush defenses, get-off timing, hand placement, counters, rush lane integrity, pass rush games and blitzes.
Prior to his time in the NFL, Anderson played four years of collegiate football as a defensive lineman at Bucknell before graduating in 2018. While with the Bison, he served as a captain and led the defense in practice environments, scout periods and game preparation. He also started 43 out of the 44 games of his collegiate football career. Anderson developed a foundational understanding of defensive line technique, alignments and scheme responsibilities and studied weekly opponent film to identify run schemes, protection structures and offensive tendencies. He also executed assignments within the team defensive system while maintaining high effort and discipline.
Anderson ‘18 graduated from Bucknell University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.
