Ryan McCarthy is an American college football coach who is currently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Lamar, positions he has held since 2025. He was the head football coach at Central Connecticut State University from 2019 to 2022.
A native of Wilder, Vermont, McCarthy earned a B.S. in physical education at State University of New York at Cortland, where he played as a quarterback for the Cortland Red Dragons.
McCarthy began his coaching career at Siena College in 2003. He then moved to the University at Albany, SUNY and served as assistant coach for 11 seasons. His teams led the Northeast Conference (NEC) in offense four times and set numerous offensive records under head coach Bob Ford. McCarthy moved to Central Connecticut State University and became the offensive coordinator under Pete Rossomando in 2015. When Rossomando left to join the staff at Rutgers, McCarthy was named head coach. In his first season as head coach he won the Northeast Conference and led his team to a 11âÂÂ1 regular season record. The 2020 season was canceled, and then following 4âÂÂ7 and 2âÂÂ9 seasons in 2021 and 2022, McCarthy's contract was not renewed.
On March 17, 2025, McCarthy was hired as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Lamar.
McCarthy and his wife, Jennifer, reside in Simsbury, Connecticut with their three sons.