ST. PAUL, Minn. – Concordia-St. Paul head football coach Shannon Currier has announced the 2019 coaching staff, highlighted by the addition of full time assistant Ollie Taylor.
 
Taylor will coach the quarterbacks and be the program's passing game coordinator and joins a cohesive full time staff that includes the other four full time staff members: defensive coordinator Craig Stern, run game coordinator and offensive line coach Jon Medlo and special teams and recruiting coordinator Jake Munkwitz.

"I think continuity is critical to the success of any organization where people know what's expected of them, understand their roles and how they fit in and contribute to the culture," said Coach Currier. "Coach Taylor has been a seamless addition to this group and has already improved our offensive organization as well as the expectations we have of players and coaches. He's taken the time to really get to know our staff, has been living with Coach Medlo and the relationship they've developed as offensive coaches will serve us well immediately."

Taylor comes from the east coast, most recently his alma mater Delaware State where he coached wide receivers and was the special teams coordinator. He's had valuable experience across all three NCAA divisions.

"Coach Taylor brings vast experience from his coaching background into his role here at Concordia. It's something that is going to be a great asset in helping this program take steps forward for all involved - student-athletes and fellow coaches," said Currier.

Returning to the coaching staff is former student assistant EJ Shelby to work with wide receivers after serving as an assistant with St. Norbert (2016), St. Olaf (2017) and Hamline (2018) after previously coaching at CSP in 2015.
 
New to the coaching staff are Tim Lydon as an assistant linebackers coach and Concordia student Alain Yang who will jumpstart his career as an assistant offensive line coach.
 
Shelby, Lydon and Yang join returning support staff assistants Mike Bond (defensive backs), Kerry Grigsby (defensive line graduate assistant), Reed Johnson (tight ends), Jim Honsa (running backs) and Justin Lerfald (defensive line).

"Like recent years, this is one of the best season's we've had in staff retention. Just like player retention, keeping coaches here is an important element in building a successful football program," said Currier. "The relationships established and maintained between everyone: player-to-coach, coach-to-coach, coach-to-faculty, player-to-faculty, continue to grow. This game (college football) is about relationships, so to see that fostered in our environment around campus allows to be a more productive program."

The staff composition will make up for a pair of Division I departures with former quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator Houston Jones heading to Northern Illinois and wide receivers coach and director of football operations Josh Rosenthal taking a position with the Iowa State staff.

"As a head coach, I want to develop and help young people move on and recognize their growth in the profession to reach their career goals," noted Currier. "It's a challenging role, though, to help our staff but in turn lose them. Hiring is a time consuming process and it's exciting to bring in new ideas and a fresh perspective but you hate to see guys like Josh and Houston go. But in this business, those relationships are long lasting and meaningful and I've been able to pick their brains as they've moved onto new programs and seeing how we can apply successful strategies to CSP football."

The program will also proceed for the first time since 2004 without the presence of longtime assistant Russell Gary, who passed away in March. He had worked under three different head coaches with Concordia football.

"When we lose coaches, in most cases you hire someone else to take on their roles. With Coach Gary, it's different because there's not anyone out there that brings those characteristics like he did. He was an NFL All-Pro and that alone gave him credibility with our young men. When he told a player how to take care of their business, it got their attention - immediately. That platform (as a former NFL player), combined with his unique personality and life experiences made him a special person in the program. He had an impactful ability to relate his own personal struggles and life experiences to the players - no one is perfect and no one relates to perfection. He shared those real life struggles with them, supported them and showed love to them on and off the field."

He continued, "He was a special coach to this program, and I'm not sure if there's any coach in our program's history - head or assistant - who have contributed as much time as Coach Gary did. Those things make him impossible to replace and we have not asked anyone to take on his role."

Working closely with the program is incoming strength & conditioning coach Eric Overland, who joins CSP from Wayne State University, a Division II program in Detroit, Michigan.

"Eric has been one of the most important hires we've made for the football program as well as the athletic department as a whole. The student-athletes spend as much or more time with the strength & conditioning staff as they do with the football staff and we've got a quality person with special character who will make them better on the field because he challenges them as men. He's able to connect with them on a whole different level because of his experience and maturity. He walks the line of being empathetic yet setting a high expectation for their performance which is a line that all coaches walk, but he walks it well," stated Currier. "Early feedback from the players has been incredible, they see how good he is and the positive impact he's already making."

Currier continued, "Our goal is to have better football players at the end of the season than they are today, and that comes from Coach Overland: better technique, stronger and faster. We expect to see that continue to improve throughout the season. He's been very enjoyable to work with. Iron sharpens iron - and he's iron."

The Golden Bear coaching staff has been busy in the first week of August in anticipation of the student-athletes reporting to campus on Sunday, August 11 with the team departing for its fall trip to Camp Ripley on Monday, August 12.
 
Concordia opens the season at home on Thursday, September 5 with a 6 p.m. kickoff against Sioux Falls.