With the offseason wrapping up and teams beginning to get back into the swing of spring practices, there’s been much to unpack about coaching news across the Mid-American Conference.
Hires:
A week before their Nov. 23 matchup with Bowling Green, Ball State announced that they were parting ways with longtime head coach Mike Neu. Six days later, on Nov. 29, the Cardinals’ season ended. Five days after that, they announced the hiring of Butler head coach Mike Uremovich, a native of Gary, Ind.
He comes to Muncie with 20 years of overall coaching experience, and a head coaching record of 56-56, spanning across 10 seasons at the NAIA and FCS levels.
Moving up north, former Central Michigan headman Jim McElwain announced his intent to retire as head coach after the 2024 season.
The conclusion of the 2024 season capped off McElwain’s 40th season on a coaching staff, a career that dates all the way back to his time as a graduate assistant at Eastern Washington from 1985-86 and spans across five decades.
On Dec. 9, his replacement was announced: Army co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Matt Drinkall, who helped guide the Black Knights to average over 30 points a game, and the nation’s #1 rushing offense.
Extensions:
As of Feb. 14, 2025, the only head coach to receive an extension resides in western New York.
Buffalo’s head coach Pete Lembo inked an extension through the 2029 season after just one season on the job.
Lembo led the Bulls to a 9-4 record in 2024, with a win over Liberty in the Bahamas Bowl as the exclamation mark at the end of the season.
Holes to fill:
After an 8-5 finish in 2024, Northern Illinois’ coaching staff was ravaged, losing both coordinators, and their tight ends coach, and were at risk of losing head coach Thomas Hammock to the NFL.
Defensive coordinator Nick Benedetto was hired away to Fresno State for the same role, while tight ends coach Cory White was hired by Whittier College to be their new head coach when the Poets return to the gridiron in 2026.
In Northwest Ohio, for the second offseason in a row, Bowling Green will have to fill two separate roles, losing quality control coach Derek Rickart to the Panthers Wrocław of the European League of Football where he’ll be the defensive line coach.
They also lost wide receivers coach Erik Campbell, who is returning to his alma mater, the University of Michigan, to serve as an assistant wide receivers coach.
