He began his coaching career at Navy under Gary Tranquill in 1986. From 1987 to 1991 he was an assistant coach for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team that won the 1990 UPI National Championship under head coach Bobby Ross. He was the defensive coordinator for the Maine Black Bears from 1992 to 1993. In 1994 Bresnahan made the move to the NFL when he was hired by then Head Coach, Bill Belichick, as the assistant linebackers coach for the Cleveland Browns. He was promoted to linebackers coach in 1995. From 1996 to 1997 Bresnahan served as linebackers coach of the Indianapolis Colts. He was the Oakland Raiders' defensive backs coach from 1998 to 1999 before he was promoted by Head Coach, Jon Gruden, to defensive coordinator and spent 2000 to 2003 in the role. During that time the Raiders won three consecutive AFC West Championships, appeared in two AFC Conference Championship games and Super Bowl XXVII. Bresnahan joined the Cincinnati Bengals' coaching staff in 2004 as a defensive assistant coach, and was promoted to defensive coordinator on January 9, 2005. In 2005 the Bengals registered their first winning season and reached the NFL Playoffs for the first time in 17 years. He was fired on January 2, 2008, after the team went 7–9 in the regular season. He spent 2009 and 2010 as the linebackers coach and defensive coordinator, respectively, of the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League where the Tuskers played in two consecutive UFL Championship games. He was hired by the Oakland Raiders as their defensive coordinator in 2011, but was not retained following the season when Head Coach Hue Jackson was fired. Bresnahan spent the 2012 season with the Sacramento Mountain Lions as their defensive coordinator; he was later part of a joint lawsuit that sued the team for unpaid salary. On January 10, 2013, he was hired to serve as defensive coordinator, under newly hired head coach Willie Taggart, at the University of South Florida. On December 8, 2014, Bresnahan was fired along with the Offensive CoordinatorPaul Wulff and the Assistant Coach, Ron Cooper. Bresnahan spent the 2015 season as the defensive coordinator of the University of Central Florida under head coach George O'Leary. Bresnahan was hired by Dean Blandino, NFL Vice President of Officiating, in 2016 to help bring a coaching perspective to the NFL Officiating Department. Upon the departure of Blandino, he remained in this position under new NFL Vice President of Officiating, Al Riveron for the 2017 season. In 2018 Bresnahan joined Pro Football Hall of FamerBill Polian in his efforts to start the Alliance of American Football. He was the league's Assistant Director of Officiating and worked under Polian in Football Operations. He remained in this position until the Alliance declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 2, 2019. In May, 2019, he joined forces with a teammate at the United States Naval Academy and former lead pilot for the Navy's Blue Angels, John Foley. He was hired to help create and supervise the Sports Division of John Foley CenterPoint Companies, Inc serving as Vice President of Sports Division.
Personal life
Bresnahan attended and graduated from St. Mary's High School in Annapolis, Maryland. Bresnahan is a 1983 graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. His father Tom Bresnahan, was a longtime football coach and spent sixteen years as an NFL assistant, including 10 seasons with the Buffalo Bills, where he coached in their four straight Super Bowl appearances under Pro Football Hall of Fame Coach, Marv Levy.
