Ernest Moore completed his fifth season as the defensive coordinator for Valparaiso in 2018. He also serves as the position coach for the team’s defensive backs.

Moore has helped oversee a significant uptick for a Valpo program that went from winning three total games in four years prior to this staff's arrival to enjoying its first winning season since 2003 in 2017.

Moore led his unit to one of the most memorable defensive showings in Valpo history on Nov. 18, 2017. The Valpo defense held Dayton to seven points in a dramatic 8-7 victory that clinched the program’s first winning season since 2003. The defensive effort came against a traditional PFL powerhouse as that loss sent Dayton to just its second losing season in a 41-year span. The Valpo defense also thrived in back-to-back lopsided wins over Marist and Morehead State in 2017, forcing six turnovers in each contest.

Moore was the coordinator for standout linebacker Drew Snouffer (2015-2018) throughout his prosperous Valpo career. Snouffer was a first-team all-conference selection following his senior season. Despite having his year cut two games short by an injury, Snouffer racked up 106 tackles, his third straight season of 100 tackles or more. He became just the second Valpo player in the last 25 years to enjoy three straight seasons with 100 tackles or more. The other player to achieve feat was Alex Green (2013-2015), who also played two of those three seasons under Moore. Green was also a first-team All-PFL selection in 2015.

One of Moore’s pupils in the defensive secondary had one of Valpo’s best single-game tackling performances ever on Sept. 29, 2018 vs. Davidson. Junior Jamari Booker racked up 20 tackles, Valpo’s first 20-tackle game since at least 2001. He also had the PFL’s highest single-game tackle output of 2018. Another player on Moore’s unit, redshirt junior linebacker Matthew Messler, had the second-highest single-game tackle total in the league all season, racking up 18 on Nov. 10 vs. Jacksonville.

Moore made an immediate impact in his first season heading up the defensive side of the ball, as the 2014 campaign saw Valpo allow 156 fewer points than the previous season. The 2014 squad surrendered over 100 fewer yards per game than the 2013 team.

Moore is the team’s liaison with Valpo’s Sports Medicine Department, serving as the direction contact for communication with the athletic training staff.                                                       

Moore arrived at Valpo in January of 2014 from the University of Chicago, where the former Lehigh assistant spent three seasons. He spent his final two years working as the Maroons' defensive coordinator. Moore graduated from Lehigh in 2008 before beginning his coaching career at Franklin and Marshall that same year.