Wofford College Athletics

    Ilir Emini returned to Wofford in March of 2023 after serving the previous two seasons as a coach with the Houston Texans. He spent three seasons at Wofford, including in 2018 as the safeties coach and the 2017 season as the assistant secondary coach.
    
In his first season back at Wofford in 2023, the team was second in the Southern Conference in passing defense and first in defensive pass efficiency. The Terriers were also fifth in interceptions among league leaders. John Michael DiRoberto led the secondary with 66 tackles. Eli Campbell was named to the Southern Conference All-Freshman team with 19 tackles and an interception.

While in Houston, he was the nickels coach in 2022 as the team was the only one in the NFL to have more interceptions (17) than passing touchdowns allowed (15). He developed and coached starters Desmond King and Tavierre Thomas. In the 2021 season he was the assistant linebackers coach and managed all aspects of opponent run game, which included breakdowns, analysis and drawing all cards. Linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill established a new career-high with a team-leading 106 tackles and he set a Texans single-game record with 19 tackles against Indianapolis (12/5). the team also forced five-plus turnovers in consecutive games against Miami (11/7) and Tennessee (11/21).
    
He spent two seasons at the University of Illinois as a defensive analyst coach with head coach Lovie Smith. In 2019, the team reached a bowl game for the first time in five years, facing California in the Redbox Bowl. The team had a 24-23 win over #6 Wisconsin and a 37-34 win at Michigan State that featured a 25-point comeback that ranks as the largest in school history. He organized and oversaw the defensive support staff and served as interim safeties coach in December of 2020.  
  
 At Wofford in 2018, the total defense and passing defense were ranked first in the Southern Conference, while the total defense was 12th in the nation. The 13 interceptions by the defense were the second-most in the league. Safety JoJo Tillery earned All-Southern Conference second team honors from the coaches. Tillery and safety Mason Alstatt tied for the team lead in interceptions with three each. Overall the team was 9-4 and won the Southern Conference Championship. In the NCAA FCS Playoffs, the Terriers advanced to the second round.
  
 In 2017, he assisted Rob Greene in coaching the secondary. The total defense was second in the Southern Conference and 26th in the nation. The passing defense ranked fifth in the league and was tied for fourth with 11 interceptions. Devin Watson was named All-Southern Conference first team by the media and coaches, as he led the team with four interceptions. The team posted a 10-3 overall record and won the Southern Conference Championship before falling in the NCAA FCS Playoff quarterfinals.  
      
 During the 2016 season he was on staff as the quality control coach and video coordinator as the team was 10-4 overall and reached the second round of the NCAA Playoffs.
      
 A four-year starter at wide receiver and on special teams at Knox College, he was named All-Conference twice. Emini holds school records for career receptions (233), single season receptions (88) and single game receptions (16). He was voted the team’s best receiver three times.
        
In the spring following his senior season, Emini served as assistant coach working with the quarterbacks and wide receivers. He also spent two summers working with the Yorkville High School football team, primarily with the wide receivers and specialists. He has additional experience as a student athletic trainer at Knox and served as an intern trainer at Acceleration Sports Performance.
      
He earned his degree from Knox in elementary education, with minors in history and business, in June of 2016. He was named to the Dean’s List nine times and earned Academic All-Conference honors four times. He and his wife, Kylie, were married in the summer of 2022.