James Fuller, in his 11th year as an AFL coach, returns to Dallas for his third season, second as the club's defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach and Director of Player Personnel while adding special teams duties as coordinator in 2008.

In his first season as Dallas's defensive coordinator in 2007, Fuller oversaw a unit that finished fourth in the league, yielding 279.7 yards-per-game. His secondary gave up just 266.5 yards-per-game through the air, good for sixth in the league. The team's 23 interceptions was second in the league. His impact on the defense was seen as defensive lineman Colston Weatherington finished the season second in the league with a career-best 10.0 sacks. In continuing to concentrate on Dallas's defensive backfield, Fuller's work with rookie Bobby Keyes helped Keyes establish a club rookie record with six interceptions - 11th in the league, tops among league rookies.

In his first season in Dallas as the wide receivers/defensive backs coach in 2006, Fuller's receiving corps was greatly aided by the signing of quarterback Clint Dolezel, as Dialleo Burks, Will Pettis and Terrill Shaw each had 1,000-yard seasons, marking the second time in league and team history that a team had three receivers over the 1,000-yard mark. His trio of receivers registered more receptions, yards and touchdowns than the Dallas threesome that first reached the mark in 2004. Fuller's receivers contributed to Dolezel's then league record 105 passing touchdowns with Shaw (37) and Burks (29) finishing the year with the club's top single-season touchdown number and third best, respectively. Fuller's unit allowed Dallas to average a league-high 58.1 points-per-game while also racking up 87 points at Orlando (3/19) - the most points in a game in team history. Fuller's defensive backs were among the stingiest in the league, helping yield a league-low 44.4 points-per-game. His backs were responsible for 19 of the club's 24 total interceptions, which was good for third-most in the league.

Fuller coached for the Philadelphia Soul the previous two seasons (2004-05). For the Soul's inaugural season in 2004, Fuller served as the team's defensive coordinator and allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete just 59.3% of their passes, becoming one of just six teams to allow less than a 60.0 completion percentage. His defense finished seventh in rushing defense, yielding just 18.3 yards-per-game and 10th in passing defense rating, 112.2. He returned to the Soul for his second season (2005) as the club's defensive coordinator but was named the Soul's interim head coach following the game against Dallas (2/27). As the team's interim head coach, Fuller posted a 4-7 record.

Fuller spent two seasons as the head coach of the Bakersfield Blitz of af2 (2002-03), leading the Blitz to a Western Division championship in 2002.

Prior to arriving in Bakersfield, Fuller was the Oklahoma Wranglers associate head coach and defensive coordinator (1999-2000), leading the Wranglers to the top league ranking in total defense both seasons. Fuller spent two years (1997-98) as an assistant defensive coach for the af2's Portland Forest Dragons, helping lead the defense to a second place finish in total defense.

Before making the jump to the coaching ranks, Fuller played defensive specialist for one season in Portland. He posted 17.5 tackles and a pass breakup in his only year of AFL football.

He was originally drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the 1992 NFL Draft. Fuller was a special teams standout, and named the special teams captain. He was an All-Europe free safety for the Scotland Claymores in 1996, leading the league in interceptions. He spent the 1996 NFL season with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Fuller was born August 5, 1969, Fuller grew up in Tacoma, Wash., and attended Stadium High School. In college, he transferred from Washington State University to Portland State University, where he was a two-time All-American at free safety. Fuller earned a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice in 1992 and currently resides in Portland, Oregon during the offseason.