advertisement

NIU’s Carey makes coaching staff adjustments

DeKALB — Northern Illinois head coach Rod Carey continues to put the pieces of his 2013 Huskie football coaching staff in place, announcing that three returning members of the NIU staff will take on additional duties in the coming season.

Carey also gave two of the four new coaches he hired after taking over the program additional responsibilities.

The NIU staff still has one opening to be filled for a defensive assistant who will direct Huskie defensive backs.

“Collectively, this staff brings toughness, hard work and determination every day. This is the best group of teachers of the game of football that I’ve ever been around, and I’m confident they’ll get the best out of our players,” said Carey, who directed NIU in its Orange Bowl clash against Florida State.

Carey took over after former head coach Dave Doeren left on Dec. 1, 2012, to take the top job at North Carolina State. Three former NIU assistants have since joined Doeren at NC State.

Veteran NIU coach Bob Cole, who worked with the Huskie wide receivers in 2011 before moving over to coach NIU’s quarterbacks last season, will serve as Northern Illinois’ offensive coordinator in 2013. Cole will continue to work with the Huskie quarterbacks while leading the NIU offensive staff.

Kevin Kane, another two-year veteran of the Huskie staff who has coached tight ends and fullbacks (2011) before moving over to linebackers last season, adds duties as special teams coordinator in 2013.

Joe Tripodi, who completed his third season on the Huskie coaching staff in 2012 working with the tight ends and fullbacks, assumes a full-time role as offensive line coach.

“Bob Cole was an integral part of the offense last year, so it’s a natural transition for him to become offensive coordinator, and keeping Joe Tripodi on staff to coach our offensive line was also a natural fit with his background as an offensive lineman and his three years of experience at NIU,” Carey said. “Coach Kane has run our punt team for the last two years and that unit has finished in the Top 10 nationally so I’m excited to see what he can bring to all of our special teams units.”

Carey also announced that assistant coach Brett Diersen will serve as NIU’s recruiting coordinator in addition to his defensive line duties. Diersen came to Northern Illinois after one year at Florida Atlantic University, where he coached the Owls’ defensive line and served as special teams coordinator. In 2011, Diersen was the defensive ends coach and recruiting coordinator at Indiana after spending the 2008-10 seasons on the University of Nebraska coaching staff, where he assisted with defensive line and special teams.

NIU new tight ends and fullbacks coach Tim Polasek, who spent the last seven seasons at North Dakota State where he helped the Bison win back-to-back NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Championships in 2011 and 2012, will direct Northern Illinois’ football camps.

Northern Illinois has also added Roy Manning and Thad Ward to the offensive staff working with running backs and wide receivers, respectively, and they also will have key roles on special teams. Manning comes to NIU after coaching running backs at Cincinnati in 2012 in his second stint with the Bearcats. A former University of Michigan linebacker who played three seasons in the NFL, Manning previously served on the coaching staff at UC in 2010 and spent the 2011 campaign as a graduate assistant coach at Michigan.

Ward, a former wide receiver for UCF, was the first assistant coach hired by Carey. He joined the NIU staff after one season at Western Michigan where he tutored MAC Freshman of the Year Jamie Wilson, and previously spent six seasons (2005-10) as running backs coach at Western Illinois. A Florida native, he has also coached in the Florida high school ranks.

With Jay Niemann returning for his third season as defensive coordinator, Carey now one spot left to fill on the defensive staff as he will bring in a coach to work with the Huskie defensive backs.

“Jay Niemann will continue to lead our defense. Our defense made significant strides from 2011 to last year and they were a very steady group throughout the course of last season. We look forward to more of that in the future.”

NIU football staff taking shape

Here’s a glance at the 2013 football coaching staff for Northern Illinois University head coach Rod Carey:

<b>Offense</b>

Bob Cole: Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks

Roy Manning*: Asst. Coach/Running Backs

Thad Ward*: Asst. Coach/Wide Receivers

Joe Tripodi: Asst. Coach/Offensive Line

Tim Polasek*: Asst. Coach/TE & Fullbacks/Camp Coordinator

<b>Defense</b>

Jay Niemann: Defensive Coordinator

Brett Diersen*: Asst. Coach/Defensive Line/Recruiting Coordinator

Kevin Kane: Asst. Coach/Linebackers/Special Teams Coordinator

TBD: Asst. Coach/Defensive Backs

* Denotes new to the staff for 2013

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.