Interesting list. Not a whole lot of experience there with the exception of Erickson. Maybe it just seems that way to me since Jace and Marcus playing is still fresh on my mind.
Lance was relatively new on the scene when he came to whitewater, but he put in his time as an assistant for 20 years. Not saying all that time is required to be successful, but I would think it helps.
Looking at that list my money is on Jace.
Are there only three candidates in the pool remaining? For some reason I thought there would be five candidates.
Erickson was a finalist last time I believe, plus he was DC for a season or two. Wasn't McLin a running backs coach for a while?
Yes, Coach Erickson was a finalist last time around after being the defensive coordinator at Platteville. He was then our DC for five years.
For the last three years he has been the defensive backs coach at D-1 FCS South Dakota State.
Most recently, he added special teams coordinator to his duties as defensive backs coach.
South Dakota State won the National Championship this year.
Coach Mclin was the defensive coordinator last year for D-II Bemidji State. Here is his bio from the BSU website:"A native of Cleveland, Ohio, McLin spent the 2021 season as wide receivers coach at UW-Whitewater. He coached two all-conference receivers with the Warhawks, including all-region and College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District selection Ryan Wisniewski. UW-Whitewater claimed the program’s 38th Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship and reached the national semifinals for the 13th time in the last 16 seasons. McLin helped the team finish with a 13-1 record, including a 7-0 mark in WIAC play.
McLin began his collegiate coaching career at Minnesota Duluth from 2018-20. He joined the Bulldogs in 2018 as the cornerbacks and returners coach before being promoted to defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator in 2019. McLin coached four all-conference defensive backs, including one All-American, during his time at UMD. The Bulldog secondary led the NSIC and ranked fourth in the nation in passing yards allowed per game while the defense led the country in total yards allowed per game during the 2019 season.
McLin garnered two All-American honors as a defensive back and one all-region honor as a return specialist during his collegiate career at UW-Whitewater from 2011-14. He helped the Warhawks to three national championships (2011, 2013, 2014) and served as a team captain during his senior season. McLin gathered All-WIAC accolades three times, including first team honors during his final two seasons."
Jace we are all familiar with. He has been with us for 16 of the last 18 years. He went from Stagg Bowl winning All-American linebacker to linebackers and special teams coach for four years. We won National Championships in three of those four years. After two years at South Dakota as the running backs coach, Jace returned to the staff in 2015 and was the run defensive coordinator through 2019. He has been the defensive coordinator since. He carries with him the cache of glowing recommendations from Coach Leipold and Coach Bullis. Lance wanted him to join his staff, but couldn't get him. He said he's a "Wisconsin guy". To be fair, the recommendations came before we knew who the other finalists were. And they may think the world of the other two as well. What I do know is both Lance and Kevin consider Jace a "special" coach.
