coach – The Hilltop Monitor https://hilltopmonitor.jewell.edu The Official Student Publication of William Jewell College Tue, 28 Jan 2020 16:53:12 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://hilltopmonitor.jewell.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/cropped-3-32x32.png coach – The Hilltop Monitor https://hilltopmonitor.jewell.edu 32 32 Sports Profile: Historic new Rams coach proving himself in LA https://hilltopmonitor.jewell.edu/sports-profile-historic-new-rams-coach-proving-himself-in-la/ https://hilltopmonitor.jewell.edu/sports-profile-historic-new-rams-coach-proving-himself-in-la/#respond Fri, 10 Nov 2017 14:00:32 +0000 https://hilltopmonitor.jewell.edu/?p=559 At the end of the 2016 season the Los Angeles Rams seemed to be in a hopeless position. After moving to the city of angels, the Rams finished with a 4-12 season. Trading their 2017 first-round pick for number one overall pick quarterback Jared Goff, who now seemed like a bust after throwing more interceptions than touchdowns in the seven games of his rookie season, appeared to devastate the Rams’ future success as well. The team’s star player, defensive tackle Aaron Donald, was clearly unhappy. He held out of the 2017 training camp for a new contract with the team. The near future of the team looked bleak to say the least.

The Rams had also fired their veteran head coach, Jeff Fisher, after a 4-9 start through week 14, which left them searching for a replacement in the offseason. On Jan. 13, the Rams released that they had hired the Washington Redskins’ former offensive coordinator, 30-year-old Sean McVay. McVay had become the new youngest head coach in NFL history and was given a huge challenge in the Los Angeles Rams.

McVay didn’t just step up to this challenge. He’s knocked it out of the park so far. The Rams have already won more games this season, starting the season 6-2, and have the lead on their division, the NFC West, midway through the season.

McVay played receiver at the University of Miami, Ohio where he earned the school’s scholar-athlete award in 2007. After graduating in 2008, he began his career as an assistant receiver coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In 2009, he left the NFL to become the receivers and tight ends coach of the Florida Tuskers in the now-extinct United Football League. McVay made his return to the NFL in 2010 as an assistant tight-ends coach for the Washington Redskins, and gradually worked his way up the coaching ladder, becoming the offensive coordinator for the team in 2014. After being promoted, McVay turned the 25th ranked Redskins offense to the 10th ranked offense.

Being the offensive mind that McVay is, he has completely transformed the offense, turning a team that was dead last in points-per-game last season to first in the category this season. The Rams also have the highest point differential of any team this season, a category they were 30th in last season. Their most recent 51-17 rout of the struggling New York Giants helped maintain this margin.

The players are thriving in this system as well. Running back Todd Gurley III is an MVP candidate midway through the season. He is fourth in the NFL in rushing yards and leads the league at his position in total touchdowns with 10. Former-bust Jared Goff is top-10 in the NFL in passing yards, touchdowns and overall quarterback rating. Recently acquired receiver Sammy Watkins is finally starting to show his potential after being a disappointment for the Buffalo Bills through his first three years. Star Aaron Donald is having yet another defensive-player-of-the-year-worthy season and helping his Rams maintain a top-10 scoring defense in the league so far.

Clearly, McVay is one of the great offensive young minds in football. One can only wonder what this historically young coach’s career accomplishments will entail. The incredible start to his career will be an inspiration to young coaches for years to come.

Photo courtesy of Sporting News

]]> https://hilltopmonitor.jewell.edu/sports-profile-historic-new-rams-coach-proving-himself-in-la/feed/ 0 Cardinal Football welcomes new coaching staff https://hilltopmonitor.jewell.edu/cardinal-football-welcomes-new-coaching-staff/ https://hilltopmonitor.jewell.edu/cardinal-football-welcomes-new-coaching-staff/#respond Fri, 20 Feb 2015 16:00:52 +0000 https://hilltopmonitor.jewell.edu/?p=3401

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.

 

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