After leading the team to finish second in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), head coach and GLVC Coach of the Year, Jerod Kruse, resigned from William Jewell College. Assistant coach and defensive coordinator Blake Williams is also leaving.
Upon the resignation of these two coaches, assistant coach and offensive coordinator Shawn Weigel became the head coach. Weigel will begin his ninth year at Jewell in the fall.
“The transition to becoming the next head coach at Jewell was very efficient,” Weigel said.
It is Weigel’s ultimate goal for the student athletes to achieve more than they thought they could on the field and in the classroom, all while reflecting the mission of the College. Weigel and the Athletic Department brought back former Cardinals Trent Figg and Matt Trowbridge to complete his coaching staff. Weigel believes that these two individuals are creative and innovative in their way of dealing with big problems.
“They are both motivated and capable. Trent and Matt are the right people for where we are headed. They both bring specific skill sets that are complementary to our staff,” Weigel said.
Coach Trent Figg returns to the Cardinal football program after coaching at Arizona State University and Southern Arkansas University. Figg, class of ’08, served as an assistant coach for the Cardinal football program for five seasons. After serving as a defensive assistant for Arizona State and a defensive backs and special teams coordinator for Southern Arkansas, Figg will serve as the defensive coordinator for Jewell Football.
“The two years that I spent away from Jewell were a tremendous growing experience for me both as a professional and as a person. The opportunity to return to Jewell and be able to use some of the tools that I have gained over the past two years is very exciting to me,” Figg said.
Figg is most excited about reconnecting with Jewell’s community and having the chance to be a mentor to student athletes.
Returning to the program is Coach Matt Trowbridge, who was an assistant coach for Jewell from 2007 to 2012. During the 2013 and 2014 seasons, Trowbridge coached and taught at Lincoln East High School in Nebraska.
Trowbridge returns to Jewell as the special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach.
Trowbridge said that he returned to Jewell because he developed a strong relationship with Coach Weigel, and he was ready to get back into coaching at the collegiate level.
“I’m excited to get back to work with the players and getting the opportunity to work with a tremendous young coaching staff, “ Figg said.
The Cardinals recently signed 24 new recruits for the 2015-2016 season. The first game of the 2015-2016 season will be against Division I opponent Drake University on Sept. 5. Coach Weigel encourages those who want to stay up-to-date with the team to follow @JewellFootball on Twitter.