Born in Woodland and raised in Winters, both in northern California, Snow attended Sacramento City College (1974–75) and Cal State Hayward (1977–78), where he received a bachelor's degree in physical education.
From an athletic family of three boys and one girl, Snow played several sports at Winters High School, including quarterback and defensive back for the Warriors football team.
Snow spent three years at Laney College in Oakland, as the secondary coach (1979), and co-defensive coordinator (1980, 1981).
His 1986 squad was ranked sixth in the nation (Division I-AA) in total defense, allowing just 269.4 yards per game and recorded two shutouts.
In his final three seasons at Boise State, Snow was assistant head coach in addition to his duties as defensive coordinator.
At California under head coach Bruce Snyder, Snow tutored the secondary for five seasons (1987–1991) in Berkeley, improving the unit each year.
Sun Devil defensive standouts Craig Newsome, Lenny McGill, Kevin Miniefield, and Jason Simmons played under Snow and all went on to the NFL.
Led by quarterback Jake Plummer, the Sun Devils narrowly lost the Rose Bowl to Ohio State and finished 11–1, fourth in both polls.
The unit was led by Morris Trophy winner Jeremy Staat and Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year Pat Tillman.
Snyder was replaced by Dirk Koetter after the 2000 season, and Snow became the defensive coordinator at UCLA in January 2001 under sixth-year head coach Bob Toledo.
In the National Football League, Snow coached the Detroit Lions' linebacker corps for three seasons (2006–2008), after working as a defensive assistant on the staff in 2005.
[10] Under his coaching, linebacker Tyler Matakevich led the AAC in solo tackles, defensive lineman Praise Martin-Oguike ranked 4th in sacks and second in forced fumbles, and defensive back Tavon Young ranked 5th in interceptions, 1st in interception return yards, and 4th in passes defended.
[25] In 2019, the Bears went 11-3 and lost to both Jalen Hurts' Oklahoma and Jake Fromm's Georgia in the Big 12 Championship and the Sugar Bowl respectively.
[29] On January 20, 2020, Snow was hired by the Carolina Panthers as their defensive coordinator, reuniting with head coach Matt Rhule.