2023-2024 Division II Coaching Changes
/Updated: 5/03/24
Team
Allen (SC):
2023 Coach: Teddy Keaton
2024 Coach: Cedric Pearl
Notes: Keaton was hired away by Clark Atlanta after a successful 6-3 season, the Yellow Jackets first winning season since re-starting the program in 2018. He will be coaching his third SIAC team – as he coached Stillman (AL) from 2011-2015.
Benedict College (SC):
2023 Coach: Chennis Berry
2024 Coach: Ron Dickerson, Jr.
Notes: Berry is leaving his position to move on to being the head coach of South Carolina State – replacing the retiring Buddy Pough. After a 5-5 debut season, Berry guided the Tigers to back-to-back undefeated regular seasons with wins in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship game. Dickerson has spent the past two seasons as the offensive coordinator at West Florida, but he was previously the first Black head coach in the Big South Conference at Gardner-Webb from 2011-2012.
Bluefield State (WV):
2023 Coach: Tony Coaxum
2024 Coach: Davon Morgan
Notes: After resurrecting the football program three years ago, Tony Coaxum is surprisingly leaving the school. The University announced that the parting was mutual, but from the outside it is pretty much one sided. Having to build the program from the ground up, Coaxum posted a record of 9-16 during his three seasons. Morgan was announced as the new coach in early March. For the last two years he has been the defensive pass game coordinator and defensive back coach at Florida A&M.
Carson-Newman (TN):
2023 Coach: Mike Clowney
2024 Coach: Ashley Ingram
Notes: The Eagles announced that they were moving on from Mike Clowney after just four seasons – with one of them being the 2020 pandemic year. Clowney, who holds the team record for tackles in a game (23), had a record of 13-20 when he was let go. Ingram, who has spent the last 16 years at the Naval Academy in a variety of roles, will be the first non-alum to lead the football program since the early 70s.
Clark Atlanta:
2023 Coach: Willie Slater
2024 Coach: Teddy Keaton
Notes: Clark Atlanta fired Slater on 10/2 after the Panthers got off to an 0-5 start this season. Slater come to CAU in 2022 after compiling a 123-47 record and 5 Black Small College National Championships from 2006-2021 at Tuskegee. Offensive Coordinator Richard Moncrief was named the interim coach for the remainder of the season and he went 0-4.
Fairmont State (WV):
2023 Coach: Jason Woodman
2024 Coach: Luke Barker
Notes: Woodman has resigned as the Falcons’ head coach to take the same position at Morehead State. In his ten seasons (not including 2020), he lead his hometown team to 60 wins and five winning seasons – including three straight 8-plus win seasons for the first time in program history. Barker is familiar with the Mountain East Conference as his most recent position was Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator at Charleston (WV).
Hillsdale (MI):
2023 Coach: Keith Otterbein
2024 Coach: Nate Shreffler
Notes: After a successful run of twenty-two years as head coach of the Chargers, Keith Otterbein has decided to pass the torch to his longtime assistant Nate Shreffler. His 133 wins at Hillsdale is third all-time at the school, behind two Hillsdale legends – Frank “Muddy” Waters and Dick Lowry. In addition to all his wins, Otterbein won four conference championships and led the Chargers to the teams only three Division II playoff appearances. As for Shreffler, he has been a part of Hillsdale’s staff since 1998, and the offensive coordinator for the last decade.
Lake Erie (OH):
2023 Coach: D. J. Boldin
2024 Coach: David Price
Notes: Boldin has resigned after just two years as head coach of the Storm. He had high hopes heading into the 2023 season after a 3-8 record in 2022, but things went downhill for Lake Erie, as they ended the campaign this year with just one win. The Storm have had just winning season in 16 years as a program. Price is familiar with the GMAC as he has spent the last five seasons at Tiffin – including being elevated to the Defensive Coordinator position this past year.
Lenoir-Rhyne (NC):
2023 Coach: Mike Jacobs
2024 Coach: Doug Socha
Notes: Jacobs has announced his resignation so that he could accept the head coaching job at Mercer. In his four years at the helm, Jacobs guided LR to a 32-9 record and his .780 winning percentage is the third highest by a head coach in LR history. He was one of three active head coaches at the Division II level to have a career winning percentage over .800 as he was a combined 74-17 between Lenoir-Rhyne and Notre Dame College. Socha, who is the 24th head coach of Lenoir-Rhyne, comes from Keiser University (FL) where he was the head coach for six seasons. There he went 55-15 with a NAIA National Championship this past year.
Limestone (SC):
2023 Coach: Mike Furrey
2024 Coach: Jerricho Cotchery
Notes: Furrey stepped down as Limestone’s head coach before being named as South Carolina’s new wide receiver coach. He leaves as the Saint’s all-time leader in wins with a record of 25-20, and he led his team to the Division II playoffs the last two seasons. Cotchery was elevated to the role of head coach after serving as Limestone’s assistant head coach for the past two seasons.
Midwestern State (TX):
2023 Coach: Bill Maskill
2024 Coach: Rich Renner
Notes: After 22 seasons as the Mustangs’ head coach, Bill Maskill is retiring as their winningest coach and second winningest coach in Lone Star Conference history. Maskill began his tenure with 17 consecutive winning season (19 overall) after Midwestern State had enjoyed only eight winning years in the 25 years prior to his arrival. Rich Renner, who has served as Maskill’s defensive coordinator since 2008, has been promoted to head coach.
Mississippi College:
2023 Coach: John Bland
2024 Coach: Mike Kershaw
Notes: Soon after a blowout loss to rival Delta State, John Bland announced his resignation, who was the Choctaws head coach for ten seasons. He finished with a 26-66 record and no winning seasons – as he finished only .500 in two campaigns. Kershaw, who played football at rival Delta State, has had a successful tenure at Rice as an assistant.
Morehouse College (GA):
2023 Coach: Gerard Wilcher
2024 Coach: Terance Mathis
Notes: On November 6th Morehouse College after one season as head coach of the Maroon Tigers. Their season ended had ended on Saturday when they defeated rival Clark Atlanta, 35-21, to finish the season 1-9. It is the hope of the school that Mathis will lead the program to new heights with his wealth of experience and passion for the game.
Northeastern State (OK):
2023 Coach: J. J. Eckert
2024 Coach: Darrin Chiaverini
Notes: Northeastern State will not renew J. J. Eckert’s contract – who was hired starting with the 2019 season. Eckert led NSU to a record of 4-40 during his tenure, with three of his wins coming against lowly Lincoln (MO) – a team that left the MIAA starting this year. The RiverHawks haven’t won more than two games since 2015. Chiaverini, who coached his Junior College team (Chaffey) to an 11-0 this year, is considered a strong recruiter and is a longtime Power 5 assistant.
Pittsburg State (KS):
2023 Coach: Brian Wright
2024 Coach: Tom Anthony
Notes: Wright has accepted the head coach position at Northern Arizona after four seasons as the Gorilla head coach. Since 2020, Pitt State has gone 33-8, with back-to-back MIAA titles and Division II playoff appearances. Anthony had been the defensive coordinator here from 2019 to 2022, but stepped away from coaching altogether this past season, but he will now lead the all-time winningest program in Division II.
Quincy (IL):
2023 Coach: Gary Bass
2024 Coach: Jason Killday
Notes: Bass has accepted the UVA-Wise opening, which gives him a chance to be closer to his hometown and family. He was the head coach of the Hawks for seven years and was a part of the program for a dozen seasons. In his seven years, Bass had a record of 26-42, but he did lead the Hawks to just their fifth winning season in the last thirty years this season. Killday, who has been the offensive coordinator at Truman State since 2016, returns to Quincy where he was an assistant coach from 2010-2015.
Saint Augustine (NC):
2023 Coach: Howard Feggins
2024 Coach: TBD (Program Suspended for 2024)
Notes: Feggins was fired on October 13th for playing an ineligible player – for three snaps. The Falcons were off to an 0-6 start and had been held to seven points or fewer five times. Defensive coordinator Jody Owens took over the reins, and Saint Augustine was competitive in three of the last four games, but they finished the season 0-10.
Southwestern Oklahoma State:
2023 Coach: Ruzell McCoy (interim)
2024 Coach: Andrew Rice
Notes: McCoy, who carried the interim tag as the Bulldogs head coach since last January, will not be retained after a 1-10 season. SWOSU announced that they are launching a nationwide search for a new head coach in 2024. After two successful seasons as Southern Arkansas’s offensive coordinator, Rice gets his first opportunity to be a college football head coach.
Tiffin (OH):
2023 Coach: Cris Reisert
2024 Coach: Brett Ekkens
Notes: Reisert resigned as Tiffin’s head coach so that he could accept the head coaching job at Gardner-Webb in the FCS ranks. He departs as the winningest coach in Tiffin football history, with a 40-11 record over five seasons. The Dragons were 11-1 this year, with a conference championship (G-MAC) which led them to the Division II playoff.
Truman State (MO):
2023 Coach: Gregg Nesbitt
2024 Coach: Kellen Nesbitt (interim)
Notes: After 14 seasons as the head coach at Truman State and over 40 years of coaching, Nesbitt has announced is retirement. He coached just short of 150 games (148), with an overall record of 89-59 and a 52-23 mark in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. His son, Kellen, has been hired as the interim head coach for the 2024 season, as he was previously the assistant coach and defensive coordinator for the past 14 seasons.
Tusculum (TN):
2023 Coach: Jerry Odom
2024 Coach: Billy Taylor
Notes: After eight successful seasons at the helm of the Tusculum University football program, Jerry Odom has tendered his resignation as the Pioneers' head coach. Odom, who posted a 42-38 record at the Greeneville, Tennessee school, is stepping down to accept a position at a NCAA Division I program. Since becoming Tusculum's 16th head football coach, Odom led the Pioneers to the 2020 South Atlantic Conference Championship as well as a pair of SAC Mountain Division titles in 2020 and this past fall in 2023. Billy Taylor is a veteran coach with over 35 years of Division I experience, including 22 years as a defensive coordinator and 17 seasons as a recruiting coordinator.
UVA-Wise:
2023 Coach: Dane Damron
2024 Coach: Gary Bass
Notes: Eighth-year head coach Dane Damron resigned immediately after the Cavalier’s season ended with a 27-0 loss to Wingate. UVA-Wise, which has had consecutive 2-9 seasons, compiled a 27-52 record under Damron from 2016 thru 2023. The Cavaliers did have their first winning season (6-5) as a Division II member under Damron’s leadership in his first season as head coach. Bass takes over after coaching seven years as the head coach of Quincy (IL).
West Chester (PA):
2023 Coach: Bill Zwaan
2024 Coach: Charles Greco
Notes: After 21 years as the head coach of the Golden Rams, Zwaan announced that he will be retiring after the 2023 season. With one game remaining, Zwaan has a record of 162-76 at West Chester. He also coached at Widener from 1997 thru 2002, and currently has a career record of 216-90, with 23 winning seasons in his 26 years as a head coach. With a win in his finale, he can make it 24 winning seasons.
William Jewell (MO):
2023 Coach: Neil Linhart
2024 Coach: Jason Ambroson
Notes: Wiliam Jewell is opening a national search for their next head coach after Linhart led the Cardinals as the interim head coach in 2023. The team finished with a 2-8 record, their 15th straight losing season. Ambroson in returning to Jewell after previously serving as a coordinator for the Cardinals from 1997-2000.
Wingate (NC):
2023 Coach: Joe Reich
2024 Coach: Rashaan Jordan
Notes: Reich, after 23 seasons of being the head coach of the Bulldogs, is stepping down to become the full-time athletic director at the school. He has to be considered the most successful coach of the program, as he had a record of 158-92 during his tenure – including a 65-22 record since 2016. For Rashaan Jordan, this will be his first head coaching job. He has Reich’s defensive coordinator for 18 years.