2023 AGS Countdown Begins -> 100 DAYS!

[bonarae]

Welcome all to the 2023 edition of the AGS Countdown!

For today, we will feature the Head Coaches of the FCS Teams that we support here on AGS.

[bonarae]

Harvard:

Tim Murphy
30th Season in Allston, 38th Overall Head Coaching Season (5 at Cincinnati and 2 at Maine)
Nine (9) Ivy League football titles to his name
Playing career: Springfield College (D-III Liberty League) 1978 (played LB)

https://gocrimson.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/tim-murphy/2030

ETSU:

George Quarles
2nd Season at College Level
Legendary Head Coach at HS Level in Tennessee (250-16 prep record, 74 consecutive won games at one point)
Playing Career: Furman 1989 (played WR)

https://www.etsubucs.com/football/coaches/12068/george-quarles/

St. Thomas:

Glenn Caruso
16th Season in St. Paul
Multiple time winner of D-III coach of the year in football (while the Tommies were in D-III)
Playing career: Ithaca College (D-III) 1996 (played OL, C specifically)

https://tommiesports.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/glenn-caruso/688

[Tribe4SF]

W&M

Head Coach

Mike London, Sr.

5th season

https://i.imgur.com/zUDLOBG.jpg

[The Cats]

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PZ8PVVwhmVM/Xf7dJnIGsfI/AAAAAAAAFnA/OFr4QHbcubQvTSccxsu1yzTOwStLzTVowCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/wcu%2Bfootball.jpg

As is our custom, we'll kick off day #100 with the Catamount Head Football Coach Kerwin Bell.

Kerwin Bell
https://catamountsports.com/images/2021/4/27/20210427_Coach_Kerwin_Bell19.jpg?width=300 (https://catamountsports.com/images/2021/4/27/20210427_Coach_Kerwin_Bell19.jpg?width=300)

Title: Head Football Coach
Hometown: Mayo, Fla
Alma Mater: University of Florida
Graduated: 1987

An accomplished player who worked his way from walk-on to All-American to the National Football League, and a 12-year veteran head coach who won a combined four conference championships and the 2018 NCAA Division II National Championship, Kerwin Bell was named the 14th head football coach at Western Carolina University by Director of Athletics Alex Gary on April 27, 2021.

“We talk every day about Catamount Athletics having a winning mentality and the confidence to believe we can bring championships to our university,” said Gary. “Kerwin is a proven winner and has shown the ability to build successful programs. We are thrilled to welcome him and his family to Cullowhee.”

Bell comes to Cullowhee having served as the offensive coordinator at the University of South Florida under head coach Charlie Strong in 2019. He most recently walked off the field as a head coach following the 2018 NCAA Division II national championship, leading the Valdosta State Blazers where he coached for three seasons, twice making playoff appearances.

“I am excited and honored to be named the new head football coach at Western Carolina University,” said Bell. “We are coming here to win championships on the field and help mentor the young men who are in our program. I am ready to get started building this into a championship program that the Catamount Nation can be proud of.”

Over a 12-year head coaching career, Bell led the football programs at Valdosta State (2016-18) and Jacksonville University (2007-15). He did this coming on the heels of a 13-year playing career in professional football that included several stops in the NFL and the Canadian Football League.

Bell served three seasons as the head coach at Valdosta State where he also guided the offense. He led the Blazers to a 27-7 record during his tenure including a school-record 15 straight victories, two Division II playoff appearances, and won both a conference and a national championship in 2018. He was named the 2018 Don Hansen NCAA Division II Co-Coach of the Year and the Gulf South Conference Co-Coach of the Year after leading VSU to a 14-0 record – the first unbeaten season in program history that included a thrilling 49-47 victory over Ferris State in the D-II National Championship game. Picked fifth in their conference in the preseason and the No. 3 seed entering the playoffs, the Blazers finished No. 1 nationally in the final AFCA Division II poll.

Bell’s 2018 offense led the nation in scoring (52.0 ppg), ranked second in first downs (341), and was fourth in total offense (523.9 ypg), red-zone offense (.901), and pass efficiency (167.37). The Blazers scored 728 points on the year, the most in NCAA Division II history, as they posted 7,334 yards (3,676 rushing/3,658 passing) and 7.9 yards per play on the year.

Within Bell’s system, VSU sophomore quarterback Rogan Wells finished as the runner-up for the Harlon Hill Trophy, presented to the Division II Player of the Year, and was named both the Region Two and Gulf South Conference Offensive Player of the Year. Wells accounted for 50 touchdowns on the year (including one receiving), led the nation in points responsible for (300), was second in passing touchdowns (38) and points responsible for per game (21.4 ppg), 10th in passing yards (3,075), 12th in passing efficiency (160.6) and 25th in total offense (271.9 ypg). He finished second on the team with 732 yards rushing and led the team with 11 rushing touchdowns.

Additionally, senior offensive linemen Jeremy King was the runner-up for the Gene Upshaw Award presented to the most outstanding Division II lineman.

Bell led VSU to runner-up conference finishes in his first two years guiding the program and went 8-3 with a playoff appearance in his first season at the helm in 2016 as the Blazers led the nation with 27 interceptions on defense.

Prior to Valdosta, Bell led Jacksonville University for nine seasons, guiding the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) program to a 66-35 record and three Pioneer Football League (PFL) championships. Serving as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach as well as head coach, Bell was named the 2008 PFL Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award after leading the Dolphins to a 9-4 seasonal record and conference title.

He also led Jacksonville to a school-best 10-1 record and conference championship in 2010 as the Dolphins led the nation in total (486 ypg) and scoring (42.2 ppg) offense. JU also posted a 9-2 overall mark and won a conference title in 2014.

Before taking over the Jacksonville program, Bell led Trinity Catholic High School in Ocala, Fla., for six seasons (2001-06), earning a Florida 2B state title in 2005 and runner-up finish in 2006. His coaching career began in earnest at the end of his professional playing career as he served as the offensive coordinator for two seasons while still a player for the Toronto Argonauts (2000-01).

Originally from Mayo, Fla., Bell was a quarterback at the University of Florida from 1983-87 where he completed over 57 percent of his 953 pass attempts for 7,585 yards and 56 touchdowns. A former walk-on, Bell concluded his collegiate career as the SEC Player of the Year in 1984 after leading Florida to a 9-1-1 record and a conference championship, and both a first-team All-SEC selection and All-America honorable mention in 1985, a season that saw the Gators earn the programs first-ever No. 1 national ranking in the Associated Press poll. Garnering a second honorable mention All-America honor in 1986, Bell was a 1987 team captain and earned the program’s Fergie Ferguson Award.

Bell was ranked the No. 26 Greatest Gator of all-time from the first 100 years of football at Florida in 2006 by The Gainesville Sun. Bell later served as a graduate assistant for the 1990 season under Steve Spurrier at Florida after earning a degree in psychology in 1987.

He was selected in the seventh round of the 1988 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins, beginning his 13-year professional career that saw stops with the NFL teams in Miami, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and Indianapolis as well as stops in the Canadian Football League, where he passed for 19,538 yards and 101 touchdowns in nine seasons, and the World League of American Football (WLAF).

Married in 1986 while both students at UF, Bell and his wife, Cosette, have three children: Kade, Kolton, and Kenzley.

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a7t7TEmeDaE/YC6u5Fsw9ZI/AAAAAAAAGno/XgAXx2u5FWsm8CgG976dXiYdXarm2WEnQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h152/CF6.png

[Milktruck74]

CHATTANOOGA HEAD COACH RUSTY WRIGHT
https://attachment.tapatalk-cdn.com/2659/202305/616335_7c24a5c9275b5700d2ad82ef710980b2.jfif

Start Date: December 2018

Head Coaching Record
2022: 7-4 Overall | 5-3 SoCon
2021: 6-5 Overall | 5-3 SoCon
2020-21: 3-2 Overall | 3-1 SoCon
2019: 6-5 Overall | 5-3 SoCon
Total: 22-17 Overall | 18-10 SoCon

Notable Entering 2023 Season

1st head coach since Brother Bill Oliver to have .500 or better seasons in his first four years: 2019 (6-6), 2020-21 (3-2), 2021 (6-5) & 2022 (7-3); 22-16. Rusty, Brother, CFB Hall of Famer Frank Thomas (1925-28) & Leslie Stauffer (1910-13) are the only ones to accomplish that in school history.
22 wins in first 39 games…one of five in UTC history with 22 wins in first four seasons (Thomas, Oliver, Buddy Nix, Russ Huesman) in the second fewest games coached (Thomas-37).
.564 winning percentage ranks ninth all-time…5th with 30 or more games coached.



Buck Buchanan Award Finalists (National DPOTY)

2022: Jay Person (T8th)
2021: Devonnsha Maxwell (14th)


Walter Payton Award Finalists (National OPOTY)

2022: Ailym Ford (T27th)


Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists (National S-AOTY)

2022: McClendon Curtis
2021: McClendon Curtis
2020-21: Drayton Arnold


Jerry Rice Award Finalists (National Freshman of the Year)

2019: Ailym Ford (5th)


All-America Selections (Head Coach-1st team unless otherwise noted)
2022: Kameron Brown (DB), McClendon Curtis (OL), Ailym Ford (RB-3rd), Devonnsha Maxwell (DL), Jay Person (Edge)
2021: Cole Strange (OL), Devonnsha Maxwell (DL), Brandon Dowdell (DB-2nd)
2020-21: Devonnsha Maxwell (DL)

SoCon Players of the Year (Head Coach)
2022: McClendon Curtis (Jacobs Blocking Award), Jay Person (Defense)
2021: Devonnsha Maxwell (Defense), Cole Strange (Jacobs Blocking Award)
2020-21: Cole Strange (Jacobs Blocking Award)

Collegiate Coaching Highlights

The five best academic semesters in program history are under Rusty’s leadership with three of 3.0 or better with a best of 3.14 in spring 2020
2022 squad led the nation in fewest penalties (39) and penalties per game (3.55)


https://gomocs.com/sports/football/rost ... right/1517 (https://gomocs.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/rusty-wright/1517)

[dewey]

Here is the head coach for the 17 time National Champions the North Dakota State University Bison.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230526/e49e244b0658dfead9620425e2053ac3.jpg

MATT
ENTZ
TITLE Head Coach
* 2019, 2021 Stats Perform Eddie Robinson Award Finalist
* 2019, 2021 AFCA FCS National Coach of the Year
* 2019, 2020, 2021 AFCA FCS Region 4 Coach of the Year
* 2019, 2021 Bruce Craddock MVFC Coach of the Year
* 2018 Football Scoop FCS Coordinator of the Year
* 2008 AFCA Division II Assistant Coach of the Year

Matt Entz was named head football coach at North Dakota State University for the 2019 season after spending five seasons as NDSU's defensive coordinator. The 31st head coach in program history, he’s been part of seven Missouri Valley Football Conference championships and six NCAA national championships with the Bison.

Entz guided North Dakota State to two Missouri Valley Football Conference championships and two NCAA Division I FCS national championships in his first three seasons as a head coach. He enters the 2022 season with a 37-4 overall record and 20-3 in the MVFC.

Named the FCS National Coach of the Year in 2019 and 2021 by the American Football Coaches Association, Entz is a two-time finalist for the Stats Perform Eddie Robinson Award, presented to the FCS National Coach of the Year as selected by a national media panel. He is a two-time recipient of the Bruce Craddock MVFC Coach of the Year award.

Entz became the first Division I head football coach to go 16-0 in his first full season at the helm, and the 2019 Bison became the first modern-era college football team in any division to finish a season 16-0, joining the 1894 Yale Bulldogs as the only 16-0 teams in college football history.

Following the departure of 24 seniors, and with five new assistant coaches, North Dakota State completed the 2019 season with an FCS-record 37-game winning streak. The streak extended to 39 games in the spring of 2021 and is the third longest winning streak in Division I football history.

This is the first head coaching job for Entz, who was an assistant coach for more than 20 years including 15 years of experience as a defensive coordinator and eight as an associate head coach in two programs.

Entz, who was named the 2018 FCS Coordinator of the Year in his third time as a finalist for the award, led a Bison defense that allowed less than 14 points per game over his five seasons as the defensive coordinator and consistently ranked in the top five of FCS in scoring defense and total defense.

NDSU had eight FCS All-America honorees on defense during his five seasons, including linebackers MJ Stumpf, Nick DeLuca and Jabril Cox. Two of Entz’s former linebackers, DeLuca and Chris Board, went on to the NFL.

The Missouri Valley Football Conference is familiar territory for Entz. He came to NDSU in January 2014 under head coach Chris Klieman after one season as the associate head coach, co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Western Illinois in 2013, and spent three previous years at Northern Iowa.

He was named defensive line coach in 2010 at Northern Iowa and assumed the defensive coordinator duties at UNI in 2012 after Klieman departed for NDSU.

Entz was the defensive coordinator from 2002 to 2009 at Winona State, where he was promoted to associate head coach in 2003 and was with the defensive line for three years before becoming linebackers coach in 2005. He was named the AFCA Division II Assistant Coach of the Year in 2008.

Prior to that, Entz was the assistant head football coach and linebackers coach at Wayne (Neb.) State from 1999 to 2001 and the defensive coordinator at Illinois College in 1998. He holds certification from the National Strength and Conditioning Association and served as an assistant strength and conditioning coach during his time at Wayne State.

Entz earned a bachelor's degree in biology from Wartburg College in 1995 and a master's degree in education and exercise science from Wayne (Neb.) State College in 1998.

He and his wife, Brenda, have two sons, Kellen and Konner.

Go Bison!

Dewey

[McCowboys]

https://mcneesesports.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/gary-goff/1823

Gary Goff enters his second year at the helm of McNeese. 2022 4-7 overall; 2-4 in conference; won the last three games of the season.

Geaux Pokes!

32805

Gary Goff was announced as McNeese's 18th football head coach in school history on December 19, 2021 and formally introduced on Dec. 20 in front a packed Endzone Club Room full of McNeese faithful.

Gary Goff comes to McNeese after he led Valdosta State to the program’s sixth NCAA National Championship appearance on Dec. 18, 2021 and back-to-back Gulf South Conference titles in his two playing seasons as head coach in Titletown (three overall seasons).

He finished his VSU career with a 22-3 record. He also coached eight seasons at Tiffin University in Tiffin, Ohio, and is 60-53 in 10 playing seasons of coaching.

The Blazers finished the 2021 season with a 12-2 record overall, falling in the NCAA Division II National Title to Ferris State. VSU went 6-1 in the Gulf South Conference, sharing the league title with West Florida. Goff was named GSC Coach of the Year for the second time in 2021, as he was Co-GSC Coach of the Year in 2019.

This past season, the Blazers placed 17 players on the All-GSC team including nine on the first unit. Valdosta led the NCAA in total offense for the season, averaging 527.2 yards per game, was second in rushing (267.0, 5th in NCAA) and third in passing (260.2, 30th in NCAA).

Defensively, the Blazers led the league in passing defense (159.9), sixth in rushing defense (188.3) and third in total defense (348.2). Additionally, VSU averaged 43.2 points per game (2nd in the GSC, 5th NCAA) while allowing just 22.7 points to rank third in the conference.

His team this past season included three Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association (D2CCCA) All-Americans - offensive lineman Ralph Singleton (1st team), linebacker Nick Moss (1st team), and defensive lineman Brian Williams (2nd team). Singleton also garnered first team AP All-America honors while Moss earned AP second team honors.

VSU also ranked No. 3 in the NCAA with 320 first downs made, seventh with four defensive TDs scored, seventh in 3rd-down conversion percentage (.500), fourth in red-zone offense percentage (.929), first in sacks allowed per game (0.15), and ninth in tackles for loss allowed per game (3.31).

In 2019 he led the Blazers to a season of 10-1 and 8-0 in Gulf South Conference play, earning Gulf South Conference Co-Coach of the Year honors. Goff continued the outstanding tradition of VSU football as the Blazers won their first ten games of the season, ranked No. 1 nationally throughout the regular season and a berth in the second round of the NCAA Division II Football playoffs.

Goff coached a league-best 13 All-GSC selections in 2019 and GSC Offensive Player of the Year Rogan Wells. Wells earned American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) All-America honors, was a finalist for the prestigious Harlon Hill Trophy and recently named the GSC Offensive Player of the Decade. Along with Wells, senior offensive linemen Adonis Sealey and Brandon Kemp earned All-America honors. Junior long snapper Pippin Davis was named Second Team Academic All-America ®by CoSIDA. Kemp signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Tennessee Titans of the NFL in April.

Under Goff’s guidance, the Blazers continued their outstanding offensive play as the team finished second nationally in third down conversion percentage at a .528 clip. The Blazers were fourth nationally in completion percentage (.701), while finishing 14th nationally in first downs gained (276). VSU was 11th nationally in rushing offense at 260.2 yards on the ground per game, while it was 12th nationally in passing efficiency at 162.12. VSU finished third nationally in total offense at 522.1 yards per game, while finishing 20th nationally in scoring offense at 38.9 points per game.

The Blazers also were outstanding on defense as the team was 32nd nationally in total defense, allowing 311.5 yards per game and held teams to a 111.71 passing efficiency for 33rd nationally out of 166 NCAA Division II programs. The Blazer defense held teams to 124.4 yards per game on the ground for 44th nationally. The opposition scored just 18.5 points per game on the Blazers for 23rd nationally and tops in the conference.

Goff arrived at VSU from NCAA Division II Tiffin University in Tiffin, Ohio, where he was the head coach of the Dragons from 2011-18. In 2018, Goff had his best season at Tiffin as he guided the Dragons to a 9-2 campaign and a 6-2 record in the Great Midwest Conference as the team began the season 9-0. Tiffin was ranked as high as No. 15 in the American Football Coaches Association Top 25 in 2018. Goff had 16 Dragons named to G-MAC All-Conference teams in 2018.

In 2016, Goff guided the Dragons to their first winning season since the 2006 season as the team went 8-3 with Goff earning Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Coach of the Year honors, the first in program history. He had one of the top offenses in country in 2016 averaging 434.5 yards per game, while his quarterback Antonio Pipkin was a Harlon Hill nominee and was named GLIAC Player of the Year. Pipkin tallied seven Tiffin career records and four GLIAC records, ranking 13th all-time in career total offense, 19th in total offense per game, 27thin career passing yards, and is only the third quarterback at the Division II level to ever accumulate at least 2,000 rushing yards and throw for 10,000 passing yards in a career. That season, Goff also had the program’s first Academic All-American as 74 players finished the 2016 fall semester with a 3.0 grade point average or higher.

Prior to Goff’s arrival in 2011, Tiffin University was a combined 2-31 from 2008-2010.

Goff joined Tiffin after a highly successful 2010 season at West Virginia Wesleyan where he was the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach. There, he helped guide the team to a massive turnaround as it was 2-8 in 2009 and went 9-2 in 2010, tying for the most wins in school history. The team was ranked nationally for the first time and broke 12 offensive school records.

Before West Virginia Wesleyan, Goff coached at Division I Princeton University where he was the pass game coordinator and receivers coach. He also served as co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach at New Mexico State for four seasons as he helped lead the team to second nationally in passing offense and total offense.

The Aggies broke 21 offensive school records, while ranking 15th nationally in scoring offense. Goff coached the nation’s top receiver, two-time All-America selection Chris Williams, who signed with the Cleveland Browns.

Goff, who has served as offensive coordinator for three teams, also was offensive coordinator at Iowa Wesleyan University (2002-03) and coached at Southeastern Louisiana, helping it to lead the nation in total offense. He also had coaching stints at Woodstock (Ga.) High School and Cherokee (Ga.) High School.

He played for former Blazer head coach Hal Mumme and former offensive coordinator Mike Leach at Valdosta State and graduated in 1996. During his time in Titletown, Goff helped lead the Blazers to their first Gulf South Conference title in 1996 and the first two NCAA playoff seasons in program history in 1994 and 1996. Goff began as a walk-on for the Blazers in the spring of 1993 after transferring to VSU from the University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D. He then earned a scholarship culminating in being named a team captain in 1996. Goff and the Blazers went 35-13 during his career at VSU under Mumme earning letters in 1995 and 1996. While at VSU, Goff and his teammates helped lay the foundation for where the VSU football program is today.

Goff earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from VSU and holds a master’s degree from Tiffin. Goff is a native of Picayune, Miss., and he and his wife Tiffanie have two children, Tyler and Audrey.

THE GARY GOFF FILE
Age: 48
Birthdate: July 19, 1973
Family: Wife, Tiffanie; son, Tyler; daughter, Audrey

COACHING CAREER
2019-21 Valdosta State, Head Coach (22-3)
2011-18 Tiffin University, Head Coach (38-50)
2010 West Virginia Wesleyan, Offensive Coordinator
2009 Princeton University, Passing Game Coordinator
2005-08 New Mexico State, Co-Offensive Coordinator
2003-04 Southeastern Louisiana, Wide Receivers Coach

EDUCATION
Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration (Valdosta State, 1996)
Master’s of Education (Tiffin University, 2014)

COACHING NOTABLES
• 11-year Head Coach Veteran
• 2011-2018 (Tiffin University)
• 2019-2021 (Valdosta State University)
• 2019, 2021 GSC Coach of the Year
• 22-3 (.880) Record at Valdosta State
• 38-50 Record at Tiffin University
• 23-10 Final 3 Seasons at Tiffin
• 45-13 (.776) Record in last 5 Seasons
• 2016 GLIAC Coach of the Year
• 14-1 in home games at VSU including 9-0 in 2021
• 30 All-GSC selections with 18 earning 1st team
• 16 All-GLIAC selections