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 Rick Willis
Head Coach
Career Record: 95-24
Willis returned to the sidelines as head coach of the Wartburg football program in the fall of 2008, leading the Knights to their 11th Iowa Conference championship, eighth NCAA Division III playoff berth and run to the national quarterfinals in the playoffs. During his first stint (1997-2005), the program recorded a sparkling 79-17 record and was ranked as the fifth-best winning percentage in the NCAA. During that span, his teams reeled off four Iowa Conference championships with two of those (1999 and 2003) compiling perfect regular season records. The Knights also appeared in six national playoff games during his first tenure and twice advanced to the second round. Following the unbeaten 1999 campaign, he was honored as the IIAC Coach of the Year and the GTE Regional Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association.
His coaching acumen hasn't been limited to between the goalposts, either. He led the Wartburg softball program into national prominence during the 2003 season in an interim role, guiding the Knights to a 38-10 record, an NCAA regional title, and a tie for fifth at the Division III College World Series. He's held the position of Lowell J. Walker Endowed Chair of Athletics/Director of Athletics for four years at Wartburg in which the athletics' program has continued its run of strong standing on the United States Sports Academy's Division III Director's Cup list, including an Iowa Conference best eighth-place effort of 722 points in 2007-08.
Before coming to Waverly, Willis was the defensive coordinator and head baseball coach at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, from 1990-96. He graduated from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, earning an NCAA postgraduate scholarship in 1988. He received his master's degree in athletic administration at the University of Illinois while serving as a graduate assistant with the Illini football program. Rick, his wife, Kelly, and their three sons, Tyler, Eric, and Ryan, reside in Waverly. |
 Tim Morrison
Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line
Recruiting Coordinator
Morrison recently completed his eighth year as offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator and second as offensive coordinator. After earning a B.A. degree in secondary education at Wartburg in 1999, he was linebacker and strength coach at Allegheny College ( Pa. ). He played three seasons for the Knights as a starting fullback and earned team captain honors as a senior. Morrison completed his masters of arts in education degree from Viterbo ( Wis. ) University in July of 2007. Tim and his wife, Betsy, an associate director of admissions at Wartburg, reside in Waverly. |
 Joel Dettwiler
Defensive Coordinator
Dettwiler recently completed his sixth season on the staff and second as defensive coordinator. A 1997 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, he was a four-year starter in the Pioneers' defensive backfield from 1992 to 1995. He joined the Platteville staff in 2001 as a defensive backfield coach and switched to the defensive line in 2003. Joel, his wife, Kirsten, and daughter, Ava (3), and newborn daughter, Lillian, reside in Waverly.
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 Chris Winter
Defensive Backs
Head Strength and Conditioning Coordinator
A wide receivers coach in 2005 and running backs coach in 2006 and 2007, Winter recently completed his second year as defensive backs coach and head strength and conditioning coordinator for the Wartburg athletic department. The 2004 Wartburg graduate concluded his playing career as the school's single-season record holder in pass receptions, hauling in 62 during his senior campaign, and shared the single-game touchdown reception mark of four with former standout Ryan Rausch. He also tied the career mark of 159 catches and holds the record for most receiving yardage in a game, compiling 259 yards against Central in 2003. Chris, and his wife, Tara, associate director of admissions and cheerleading coach at Wartburg, reside in Waverly. |
 Scott Power
Defensive Line
Prior to arriving in Waverly, Power had been the defensive coordinator at Benton Central High School in Indiana in 2007 and 2008. He ended a stellar collegiate playing career at Hanover College in Indiana and then went on to play professionally with the Turku Trojans of the European Football League and the Louisville Fire, Green Bay Blizzard, and Quad Cities Steamwheelers of the Arena Football League 2. Scott and his wife, Megan, reside in Waverly. |
Damian Droessler
Running Backs
Droessler is in his first season at Wartburg. He previously had been a graduate assistant, in charge of coaching wide receivers, at Bemidji State University in Minnesota in 2007 and 2008. He also worked as a graduate assistant running backs coach for his alma mater, UW-Platteville, in 2006. Droessler earned his bachelor's degree in physical health and education from UW-Platteville in 2005 after starring on the gridiron and earning all-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference second team honors as an all-purpose back during his career. |
 Reed Hoskins
Quarterbacks
Hoskins just finished his second year on the staff after serving one-year stints at North Carolina Wesleyan and St. Cloud State University of Minnesota. The 2006 Wartburg graduate remains in the Knights' record books, holding the school mark for most passing yardage in a game (371 vs. Central, 2003). He and his wife, Elizabeth (Summitt '07), an admissions counselor at Wartburg, reside in Waverly.
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Jeff Beck
Beck has played or coached for the Knights in 12 of the last 13 years. He earned a B.A. degree from Wartburg in 2001. Before returning to his alma mater in 200 2 , he served as an assistant at Grand Valley State in Allendale , Mich. , where he was part of the NCAA Division II national runner-up team. A former student coach, he is in his second season as outside linebackers coach . He's also the college's Director of Alumni and Parent Programs . Jeff, his wife, Kelly (Foley) '04, and daughter, Natalie (2), reside in Waverly.
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 Jerry Albert
Offensive Backfield
An 22-year veteran of the Wartburg football program, Albert continues his duties with the offensive backfield. Along with coaching on the Knights staff, he's also held roles as a junior high coach for two years, a high school coach for three years, a member of the Ellsworth Community College staff for six seasons, and a member of the University of Northern Iowa staff for two years. A 1969 Wartburg alumnus, he was a kick-return specialist for the Knights. Jerry and his wife, Kathy, reside in Cedar Falls. |
 Scott Suhr
Assistant Offensive Line
Suhr recently completed his sixth year as an assistant coach on the offensive line in the fall of 2009. A 2002 Wartburg graduate, he was a three-year letterman on the Knights offensive line. |
 Paul Mugan
Assistant Tight Ends
Mugan just ended his seventh season of working with the tight ends. A 1990 Wartburg graduate, he played football under the late Don Canfield and now teaches biology at Waverly-Shell Rock High School. Paul, his wife, Beth (Dettmering) '90, and daughter, Anna, reside in Waverly. |
 Mike Dotseth
Punters/Kickers
A longtime resident of the Waverly area, Dotseth recently completed his eighth season on the current staff after serving from 1984 to 1991 under former head coaches Don Canfield and Bob Nielson. He coaches the kickers and punters. A graduate of Luther College, he taught and coached in the Waverly-Shell Rock Schools until his retirement. Mike and his wife, Janet, reside in Waverly. |
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