Fleck, Uremovich return to NIU football

DeKALB - After introducing 31 new Huskies Wednesday on National Signing Day, NIU head coach Dave Doeren announced Thursday that two familiar names will return to the Northern Illinois coaching staff in 2012.

P.J. Fleck, who starred at Kaneland High School and played and coached at Northern Illinois before spending the last two seasons at Rutgers, will return to his alma mater as offensive coordinator. Mike Uremovich, a native of New Lenox who spent the past seven years as head coach at the University of St. Francis and previously worked as a graduate assistant at NIU, joins the staff as running backs coach and special teams coordinator.

Doeren said bringing Fleck back home to Northern Illinois was an easy decision.

“When I found out (former offensive coordinator) Matt Canada was leaving, the first person who came to mind was P.J.,” Doeren said. “We spoke at length about why this is the right place for him. It was very evident to me that he bleeds NIU, and he would have tremendous pride and passion working not just for me, but for the university to help continue what we started last year, and really what he started here as a player. His recruiting abilities and passing game expertise, working alongside Coach Carey as our run game coordinator, will be a great combination for our offense.”

Fleck, who played wide receiver for the Huskies from 1999-2003 and spent three seasons on the NIU coaching staff from 2007-2009, welcomed the opportunity to become an offensive coordinator at Northern Illinois and to be a member of Doeren’s staff.

“I am really excited to be back home and to rejoin the Huskie family,” said Fleck, a former Daily Herald All-Area football captain for the Tri Cities schools. “One of the big reasons why I came back was Dave Doeren. He contacted me about the position and it immediately sparked my interest. It gives me a chance to continue to develop myself as a coach. Responsibility equals growth, and he’s given me an enormous amount of responsibility. It’s a great challenge and I can’t wait to get started.”

As a player at Northern Illinois, Fleck helped build the Huskies’ winning tradition. As a senior in 2003, he led the Huskies with 77 catches for 1,028 yards and 6 touchdowns, a reception total that still ranks second on the school’s single-season list. He was a first team all Mid-American Conference selection in 2003 while helping NIU to a 7-0 start that included upset victories over Maryland and Alabama. He still owns the school record for career punt returns, is second in punt return yards, third in career catches and fourth in receiving yards.

Following his NIU playing career, Fleck spent two seasons in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers before retiring as a player and beginning his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Ohio State in 2006.

As a member of the NIU coaching staff, Fleck helped the Huskies to a pair of bowl games in 2008 and 2009. In addition to his duties as wide receivers coach, he served as recruiting coordinator in 2009. One of his NIU pupils, Britt Davis, went on to play in the NFL for the Denver Broncos and is in Indianapolis as a member of the New England Patriots’ practice squad.

“The great thing about Northern Illinois is that the tradition has been built,” said Fleck, a native of Sugar Grove. “Now we have to continue to take strides in the right direction to continue to make the tradition strong. We want to continue to develop our student-athletes on a daily basis and that is what Dave is all about. I respect so much what they did last year. He had a tremendous football team coming in, but NIU has had a lot of good football teams come through here in the past. Getting that MAC Championship trophy says a lot about his leadership here at NIU.”

Uremovich was a part of the Huskies’ tradition when he began his coaching career as a graduate assistant on Novak’s staff in 2001 and 2002 for teams that each won MAC West Division titles. Three years later, Uremovich took over as head coach of the NAIA University of St. Francis team. In 2011, he led the Saints to their most successful season in school history as USF won a school-record 10 games and claimed their first win over an NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) team when they defeated Georgia State. The Saints advanced to the NAIA Playoffs for the first time in 24 years and captured their first playoff victory. USF also posted seven-win seasons in 2008 and 2010 as the program was built under Uremovich.

Uremovich, who attended Providence Catholic High School, believes his experience as a head coach in the state for the last seven years can benefit the Huskies.

“Being a head coach in the state of Illinois for the past seven years has allowed me to build great relationships with high school coaches,” he said. “We had 60 players from Illinois on our roster from St. Francis and I think I have a great relationship with high school coaches throughout the state.

Doeren has now filled all three open spots on his coaching staff as Fleck and Uremovich join former NFL wide receiver and NIU player Frisman Jackson, who was most recently an assistant coach at Akron, as the newest staff members.

“When I had a chance to hire three new coaches this year, I hired three guys that have NIU ties,” Doeren said. “That was important to me, not just to find the right coaches but to find three coaches that want to be here and want to be a part of this community and this university. They have an understanding of Northern Illinois, how we operate and what we’re looking for.”

Doeren said that in addition to Fleck’s role as offensive coordinator and Uremovich working with running backs and as special teams coordinator, that Jackson would coach the Huskie wide receivers with veteran Bob Cole returning to a familiar role working with quarterbacks. Rod Carey will continue to coach the NIU offensive line and has added responsibilities as run game coordinator. Joe Tripodi will now coach the NIU tight ends and fullbacks after Kevin Kane’s move to the defensive side of the ball as linebackers’ coach. Kane will also work with the Huskies’ kickers, punters and snappers.

The Huskies open spring football practice March 28 with the 2012 season opener set for Saturday, Sept. 1 versus Iowa at Soldier Field.

NIU football staff

Dave Doeren, head coach

P.J. Fleck, offensive coordinator

Rod Carey, offensive line/run game coordinator

Bob Cole, quarterbacks

Frisman Jackson, wide receivers

Mike Uremovich, running backs/special teams coordinator

Joe Tripodi, tight ends/fullbacks

Jay Nieman, defensive coordinator/safeties

Ryan Nielsen, co-defensive coordinator/defensive line/recruiting coordinator

Kevin Kane, linebackers/specialists

Richard McNutt, cornerbacks