By Keith Grabowski
32 Conversations. 11 Weeks. One Clear Message: Great Coaching Leadership Is a Way of Thinking.
Selected by Hansen Ratings — Made Possible by Tully
The 2025 season provided more than standout performances; it offered a window into the minds of the 2025 Coaches of the Year. Across 32 conversations with the Hansen Ratings D3 Coaches & Coordinators of the Week, we heard coaches reveal what truly drives consistent excellence: culture, preparation, clarity, teaching, and accountability.
These weren’t highlight reels. Instead, they were honest, detailed examinations of how the 2025 Coaches of the Year think, teach, and build programs.
This entire series was made possible by Tully, the performance and accountability platform built for programs that want to dominate the offseason as deliberately as they dominate Saturdays. At the D3 level — where players are away from campus for long periods, including holidays and summer — the programs that sustain excellence are the ones that stay connected when nobody is watching. Consequently, Tully gives coaches that edge with daily data, real-time visibility, and the Tully Score that fuels internal competition year-round.
None of these conversations would have reached the same depth without the interviewing expertise of John Snell. His thoughtful, patient approach consistently surfaced the beliefs and teaching philosophies that powered each coach’s success. What began as weekly recognition ultimately became a masterclass in leadership and program building — perfectly aligning with what the 2025 Coaches of the Year represent.
Before celebrating the coaches who defined the 2025 season, we need to acknowledge the person who helped us find them. Logan Hansen, through his Hansen Ratings analytics, brought clarity to a sport where the best coaching doesn’t always appear on a scoreboard. His work allowed us to highlight performances that deserved recognition — the breakthroughs, the dominant game plans, and the moments of leadership that changed the season for many of the 2025 Coaches of the Year.
Below are the five key themes that surfaced across the entire series — not concepts imposed, but patterns emerging directly from the coaches’ own words.
THEME 1: Culture as a Competitive System
“Every program should be teaching building men… that’s our job as college coaches — to build them into a man through their motivation, which is football.”
— Clayt Birmingham, UW–Stout
Culture isn’t typography on a wall. Rather, it’s how a team behaves when the game becomes unpredictable. The 2025 Coaches of the Year repeatedly returned to this idea.
The coaches in this theme spent most of their time discussing people: standards, relationships, consistency, and how their players respond when pressure spikes.
- Clayt Birmingham (UW–Stout) – Birmingham discussed building men and building teammates, not just building a scheme. His simple rules shaped a 27–0 second-half surge.
- Matt Walker (UW–River Falls) – Walker emphasized breaking unproductive emotional patterns so players could perform their best in rivalry moments.
- Peter Stuursma (Hope) – Stuursma connected football and life, explaining how Hope’s brotherhood prepares players for adversity.
- Gene DeMarco (Geneva) – DeMarco credited continuity — staff that stays and standards that hold — for their best-ever PAC finish.
- Joel Elliott (Berry) – Elliott described a defensive culture built on discipline, strain, and team-first effort.
- Tim Kologrivov (Susquehanna) – Kologrivov highlighted culture beginning “from the moment we walk into their high schools,” stressing trust in player-led work.
Clicking into any of these episodes shows how culture becomes a true competitive system — and why these coaches stood out among the 2025 Coaches of the Year.
THEME 2: Preparation as Identity
“From the very moment we walk into their high schools… they should know and start to learn and understand the standard that has to be upheld. And to have faith in those guys that they’ll do the work when they’re not being watched by us… that’s something we hold those kids to a pretty high standard about.”
— Tim Kologrivov, Susquehanna
Preparation isn’t what you do only during game week — it becomes who your team is. Moreover, this theme appeared throughout the conversations with the 2025 Coaches of the Year.
Across the transcripts, this theme kept appearing.
- Joe Palka (Adrian) – Palka walked John through the structure behind Adrian’s win over an FCS opponent — a win they were prepared for before it happened.
- Justin Clark (NC Wesleyan) – Clark explained how simplifying their weekly prep gave players freedom and confidence. Explosiveness came from clarity.
- Dan Bauder (UW–Platteville) – Bauder detailed the preparation behind a defensive performance that held Aurora to a single net rushing yard.
- Pat Ruley (Rowan) – Ruley talked about making the week harder than the game, creating familiarity and comfort on Saturday.
- Ryan Cortez (UW–Whitewater) – Cortez emphasized eliminating the gray area so players can react with complete confidence.
- Mike Sirianni (Washington & Jefferson) – Sirianni discussed building mental freshness into their weekly rhythm while maintaining high standards.
- Junior Collins (Mount Union) – Collins described how Mount Union builds its red zone identity through structured, competitive preparation, using periods like “4th-and-2 from the 2” and good-on-good reps to make execution on Saturday a reflection of the clarity players gain throughout the week.
If you want belief and composure on Saturday, these coaches make it clear: you build it on every other day of the year.
THEME 3: Offensive Clarity & Simplicity
“We’re all thieves in offense… We’ve adapted this offensive style. It has taken what the defense gives. I was pushed to study RPO. When you study it and you really dive into it, everybody’s doing the same thing—it’s just how you get to it.”
— Stephen Lee, Mary Hardin–Baylor
The best offenses in D3 don’t try to show how much they know — they make it obvious what players must do. The offensive coaches recognized as 2025 Coaches of the Year returned to clarity, clean reads, and tempo.
- JB Wells (Coast Guard) – Wells broke down the structure and tempo behind their 92-point performance.
- Jeff Whitehead (Hardin–Simmons) – Whitehead talked about eliminating anything that slowed his players down.
- Eric Stuedemann (North Central) – Stuedemann offered a clinic on quarterback clarity and simplicity.
- Curran White (Concordia Wisconsin) – White emphasized starting every concept with the quarterback’s eyes.
- Mike Isgro (Delaware Valley) – Isgro highlighted structure, rhythm, and decisiveness.
- Stephen Lee (Mary Hardin–Baylor) – Lee discussed clarity, adaptability, and understanding the “why” behind RPO decisions.
- Russ Phillips (Hendrix) – Phillips pushed players to understand why concepts work, accelerating execution.
- Andy Helms & Ryan Larsen (Carnegie Mellon) – Their aligned teaching and shared language powered a rare “perfect game.”
Here again, clarity consistently outperformed volume — a hallmark of the 2025 Coaches of the Year.
THEME 4: Defensive Control of Time & Space
“You want to take something that’s fragile but has potential and put it in an environment where it can flourish… The soil that you’re in matters… What are you nourishing it with?”
— Mike McElroy, Bethel
Great defense is less about calls and more about removing the quarterback’s rhythm. Unsurprisingly, the defensive leaders among the 2025 Coaches of the Year mastered this.
- Daniel Fields (Lewis & Clark) – Fields discussed mentally and physically shrinking space, forcing uncomfortable throws.
- Matt Tschetter (Wartburg) – Tschetter explained how to disrupt timing against one of the nation’s most explosive offenses.
- Mason Tomblin (Wooster) – Tomblin demonstrated how disciplined space control eliminated the need for explosives.
- Robbie Brown (Ohio Northern) – Brown emphasized trust and communication as the foundation of their havoc.
- Ethan Nichol (Baldwin–Wallace) – Nichol explained the importance of forcing predictable decisions and keeping plays in front.
- Mike McElroy (Bethel) – McElroy used a powerful growth metaphor to illustrate defensive development and clarity.
- Adam Weber (Carthage) – Weber described how clear expectations and fast play limited a top offensive threat.
These episodes show how the 2025 Coaches of the Year mastered the art of dismantling rhythm, not just calling schemes.
THEME 5: Teaching Over Scheme
“Being a head coach is about making the people around you better… it’s to get everybody better at what they do. Our job is to coach the coaches so they can coach the players.”
— Dan Wodicka, Johns Hopkins
Scheme wins a day; teaching wins seasons. This is one of the most consistent insights shared by the 2025 Coaches of the Year.
- Chad Braun (Monmouth) – Braun discussed inviting players into problem-solving and developing them into thinkers.
- Dan Wodicka (Johns Hopkins) – Wodicka emphasized developing the staff so they can develop the players.
- Brad Spencer (North Central) – Spencer described teaching the “why” behind timing, leverage, and spacing.
- Matt Janus (UW–La Crosse) – Janus focused on empowering players to make real-time decisions.
Across these conversations, teaching outranked scheme — another defining feature of the 2025 Coaches of the Year.
2025 Season Superlatives
Most points scored in a single game
JB Wells – Coast Guard
Led a 92–60 win over Nichols, setting an NCAA scoring record. Coast Guard produced over 700 yards of offense, converted 80% on third downs, hit 50% on fourth downs, and scored six touchdowns on drives of three plays or fewer.
Most complete offensive performance
Andy Helms & Ryan Larsen – Carnegie Mellon
Directed a 70–29 win over Dickinson in which every single drive ended in a touchdown. The offense posted 664 total yards, averaged 7.1 yards per play, and never punted or turned the ball over.
Most historically significant win
Joe Palka – Adrian
Delivered a 10–7 victory over Valparaiso, the first D3-over-FCS win since 2015. Adrian forced five turnovers, won the turnover battle 5–1, and engineered an 83-yard game-winning drive in 1:20.
Most dominant defensive shutdown
Dan Bauder – UW–Platteville
Engineered a 41–0 shutout of Aurora, a team that averaged 46.6 points per game in 2024. Platteville allowed only one net rushing yard, forced five turnovers, produced six sacks, and held Aurora to a 33% third-down rate.
Most balanced offensive attack
Stephen Lee – Mary Hardin–Baylor
In a 65–9 win over Howard Payne, UMHB produced over 250 yards both rushing and passing, averaged eight yards per play, scored on eight of their first nine possessions, and committed zero turnovers.
Most disruptive defensive performance
Mike McElroy – Bethel
Held Carleton to just three total first downs in a 49–7 win. Carleton QB Jack Curtis entered the game averaging 344 passing yards per contest; Bethel held him to 4-of-8 passing for 22 yards before exiting with injury.
Largest rivalry breakthrough
Matt Walker – UW–River Falls
A 52–14 win over UW–Whitewater, breaking a decades-long drought. River Falls posted 619 total yards, including over 500 passing, while holding Whitewater to 239 total yards and 46 rushing yards on 1.4 yards per carry.
Most overwhelming offensive efficiency
Eric Stuedemann – North Central
Produced a 76–14 win over Augustana with over eight yards per play on just 56 total snaps. The offense rushed for 7.2 yards per carry and passed for 11.2 yards per attempt without committing a turnover.
Most impactful special teams and havoc performance
Chad Braun – Monmouth
A 49–6 win featuring blocked punts, six red-zone touchdowns, nine tackles for loss, and disruptive special teams play including two punts blocked by Derek Chandler.
Most complete havoc outing on defense
Gene DeMarco – Geneva
In a 43–16 win over Case Western Reserve, Geneva totaled six sacks, eight tackles for loss, three fumble recoveries, eight pass breakups, and returned a 98-yard interception for a touchdown.
These performances were the backdrop for the thinking that surfaced in the conversations.
Build the Habits That Win Long After Saturday
Every coach honored here talked about preparation, culture, teaching, and the daily habits that shape a season. Tully helps you build those habits year-round — even when your players are scattered across the country.
If you want your team to be connected, accountable, and competing all year, Tully gives you the tools to do it.
Give your players a competitive advantage.
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Related:
D3 Coach and Coordinators of the Week – Week 1
D3 Coach and Coordinators of the Week- Ben Dixon, Matt Tschetter, and Peter Gallagher