Year with Browns: 2nd

Year as NFL coach: 2nd

Key Notes

• Joined the Browns as safeties coach in 2023, following 11 years coaching on the college level.
• Name is pronounced ef-RUM BON-duh.
• In 2023, the Browns defense led the NFL in several categories including total defense (270.2 yards per game), passing defense (164.7 yards per game), third down percentage (67-of-230 for 29.1 percent) and first downs allowed (253). The team's 270.2 net yards allowed per game were the fewest allowed in the NFL since the 2014 Seahawks (267.1) and the fewest allowed by a Browns team since 1957. Cleveland also led the league by forcing 112 punts, the third-most forced by an NFL team since 1970.

Year with Browns: 2nd

Year as NFL coach: 2nd

Key Notes

• Joined the Browns as safeties coach in 2023, following 11 years coaching on the college level.
• Name is pronounced ef-RUM BON-duh.
• In 2023, the Browns defense led the NFL in several categories including total defense (270.2 yards per game), passing defense (164.7 yards per game), third down percentage (67-of-230 for 29.1 percent) and first downs allowed (253). The team's 270.2 net yards allowed per game were the fewest allowed in the NFL since the 2014 Seahawks (267.1) and the fewest allowed by a Browns team since 1957. Cleveland also led the league by forcing 112 punts, the third-most forced by an NFL team since 1970.
• Served as the defensive coordinator for the American team in the 2024 Senior Bowl.
• Helped his teams to a bowl game during each of his 11 seasons coaching college football.
• Spent two seasons (2021-22) as Utah State's assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and safeties coach. Led an attack front system that was ranked second in the NCAA with 114 TFL in 2021 and ninth with 94 TFL in 2022. Helped the Aggies tie a school record with 11 wins in 2021, including capturing the school's first Mountain West Championship and ranked 24^th nationally.
• Prior to Utah State, spent five seasons (2016-20) at the University of Miami. Spent his first three seasons (2016-18) as safeties coach before serving as co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach from 2019-20. During his tenure at Miami, he coached nine defensive backs that went on to the NFL in Jamal Carter, Adrian Colbert (Chicago Bears), Dee Delaney (Buffalo Bills), Corn Elder, D.J. Ivey (Cincinnati Bengals), Mike Jackson, Rayshawn Jenkins (Seattle Seahawks), Jaquan Johnson (Buffalo Bills) and Sheldrick Redwine (Dallas Cowboys). In his last two recruiting cycles at Miami, Banda landed the No. 1-ranked safety in the nation and was named one of the top-25 recruiters in the country by Rivals.com.
• Served as a defensive assistant at Mississippi State in 2015, helping the Bulldogs to a 9-4 record. Coached two future NFL players in Will Redmond and Tavele Calhoun.
• Spent three seasons (2012-14) as a defensive graduate assistant at Texas. Coached future first-round NFL Draft pick Kenny Vaccaro (New Orleans), along with five other future NFL players in Quandre Diggs (Detroit Lions), Adrian Phillips (San Diego Chargers), Carrington Byndom, Mykkele Thompson and Duke Thomas.
• Earned undergraduate degree in sports management from Incarnate Word in 2011 and his master's degree in communications from Texas in 2014.
• Banda and his wife, Crystal, have a son, Darian, and a daughter, Aamani.

Ephraim Banda's Coaching Background:

2011 Incarnate Word, student assistant coach

2012-14 University of Texas, defensive graduate assistant coach

2015 Mississippi State University, defensive assistant coach

2016-18 University of Miami, safeties coach

2019-20 University of Miami, co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach

2021-22 Utah State University, assistant head coach/defensive coordinator/safeties coach