LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- If there's ever been a coaching job someone was born to take, Stefan LeFors just found it.
The former University of Louisville quarterback was named head football coach at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. It's his first head job at the college level — but that hardly tells the whole story.
Gallaudet is the world's only university where every program and service is designed to serve deaf and hard-of-hearing students. It's the birthplace of American Sign Language. It's where the football huddle was invented — used by deaf players to keep opponents from reading their signs.
It's also where LeFors' mother once played volleyball, where his older brother, Eric, played quarterback and where his family legacy runs deep.
And it's where a hearing kid from a deaf family used to sit in the stands, signing with his parents and watching his brother lead the Bison.
Now, he'll lead the program himself.
"My ties to GU run deep with family members attending school there and being on campus as a kid watching my brother play football in the late 1990s," LeFors said. "It really makes this even more of a unique and special opportunity for me and my family."
LeFors was the only hearing member of his household growing up in Baton Rouge. His father was born deaf. His mother and brother lost their hearing to childhood mumps. Both of his paternal grandparents were deaf. So were multiple aunts and uncles.
He grew up speaking with his hands, listening with his eyes, and interpreting the world — sometimes literally — for those around him.
There were moments of frustration, he told me for this 2003 ESPN story, but also moments of clarity.
"I wouldn't change my life for anything," he said then. "I have a great family, great parents, grandparents, everybody. They just can't hear. So we talk with our hands. It's not a big deal to me."
It's a big deal now — because that upbringing didn't just shape his communication. It helped shape how he played quarterback, how he saw defenses, how he led teams.
Louisville was the only school to offer him a scholarship out of high school — after he mailed out homemade highlight tapes with the help of his brother and dad. Then-U of L offensive coordinator Scott Linehan saw something others didn't.
He didn't have prototype size. He did have something else.
LeFors backed up Dave Ragone for two seasons, then took the reins of Bobby Petrino's offense and ran it to near perfection. He was Conference USA Player of the Year as a senior. MVP of the Liberty Bowl. And a fan favorite in a program that's produced a long list of elite quarterbacks.
To this day, some Louisville fans will tell you no one ever played the position with more joy or composure than LeFors.
He spent two seasons in the NFL, then three more in the Canadian Football League, before turning to coaching. He worked in college support roles — including one at Louisville — before taking over the program at Christian Academy of Louisville in 2011.
There, he went 86-20, won two Class 2A state titles (2016, 2018), and was named state coach of the year. He returned home to Baton Rouge in 2020 to lead Parkview Baptist, where he went 47-24 and reached the playoffs six times.
Now, after building programs at the high school level, he'll try to do the same at a place that helped build him.
"We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Coach LeFors to the Gallaudet family as our new head football coach," Gallaudet athletic director Warren Keller said. "From the moment we began this search, we were looking for someone who could inspire our student-athletes, elevate our program, and lead with passion, integrity, and vision. Coach LeFors brings an incredible track record of success, a deep love for the game, and a clear commitment to developing young men both on and off the field. We're confident he will make an immediate impact on our culture and carry on our proud tradition with energy and excellence."
At Louisville, Petrino often leaned on LeFors when the staff needed new hand signals or play names. He said the quarterback simply thought differently — and saw the field differently.
And that may be the thing that makes this new role feel so fitting. Because LeFors doesn't just understand the Gallaudet mission. He's lived it.
"I'm incredibly humbled and excited for this next chapter and grateful for the opportunity to grow, learn, and take on new challenges at Gallaudet University," LeFors said. "My passion is developing young people and sharing the knowledge I've learned from all the wonderful places I've been both as a player and coach. I look forward to building positive relationships with the players, staff and administration."
He's walking back into a place that shaped his family — this time, as head coach.
For a kid who grew up interpreting for his family, the job he was born into might just be the one he was born for.
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