The Observer, December 7, 2007
Volume XL, Issue 13
Debeljak in top five for national Coach of the Year
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Going undefeated gets your program some recognition.
That's what head football coach Greg Debeljak found out firsthand on Wednesday when he was named one of the five finalists in Div. III for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year award. The award honors the coach who best demonstrates responsibility, integrity, and excellence on and off the field.
"It's an honor to be considered for an award like this," said Debeljak. "It's a reflection of us as a group. We have talented players and a dedicated staff."
The winning coach will be chosen on Saturday, Dec. 18, using a formula of 25 percent media votes, 20 percent fan votes, and 55 percent Hall of Fame committee votes. Debeljak finished third in fan votes out of over 300,000 cast via the internet. That, along with an objective scoring model endorsed by the College Football Hall of Fame, widdled the list of candidates down to five.
The winning coach will receive a permanent exhibit at the College Football Hall of Fame. Liberty Mutual, the award's sponsor, will also award $50,000 to be donated to a charitable organization of the coach's choice and $20,000 for scholarships to the winning school's alumni association.
"Debs [Debeljak] is not your traditional brow-beater coach and it's refreshing, especially at the collegiate level," said senior offensive lineman and team captain Tommy Zagorski. "We all play football because we love the sport and the competition, the same reason he coaches."
Debeljak came to Case in 2001 as an assistant head coach and the offensive coordinator. Before coming to Case, he spent 12 years as an assistant coach at his alma mater, John Carroll University. He graduated from JCU with degrees in education and business.
"I'm not a very good salesman," said Debeljak, "unless I'm talking about our football program."
His tenure as head coach, which began in the spring of 2004, hasn't always been 10-0 dream seasons. In 2005, the Spartans finished with a 3-7 record, and last year his squad went 5-5. Those two years were often frustrating for the 42-year-old Mentor native.
"We felt we were so close, but we seemed to fall just short," said Debeljak. "Things that were out of our control, like injuries, really hurt us."
But the Spartans had enough depth this year to overcome injuries at the wide receiver, defensive line, and quarterback positions. It helped that Debeljak has presided over two years of some of the biggest recruiting classes in school history.
"He [Debeljak] had a big impact on my decision to come to Case," said quarterback Dan Whalen. "He made the effort to come out to my high school and talk with me."
Debeljak, who views himself as having a hands-on coaching style, gave his assistant coaches and players more leeway this year. "I was more hands-off this year than I've ever been before. I've got a very talented group of people to work with," said Debeljak. "Hopefully I'm smart enough to recognize that when you have good people, you let them do what they're good at."
Debeljak has a special relationship with one member of his coaching staff, Dave DiCarlo, who was his quarterback coach during his senior year at John Carroll. DiCarlo, a Western Reserve College alum who has been a football coach for 47 years, was instrumental in convincing Debeljak to pursue coaching as a career.
"He's so knowledgeable and he's a really positive person. I'm glad our kids had a chance to benefit from his experience this year," said Debeljak.
He and his staff have received other coaching honors this year. Earlier this fall, Debeljak and company were named the UAA's Coaching Staff of the Year.
These accolades can have a concrete effect in college athletics; they show potential recruits that they'll be part of a quality program. That, in turn, means more winning seasons for the Spartans. "I don't know too many people who can sustain 10-0," said Debeljak, "but I think we're going to be able to play with people at a high level for some time to come."
Other Div. III Finalists:
John Gagliardi – Saint John's University
Legendary head coach John Gagliardi ended his record 59th season as a collegiate head football coach in 2007. Gagliardi is the winningest coach in college football history and ended the 2007 season with a 453-122-11 (.782) career record. Gagliardi's 59 years of collegiate coaching is the most in college football history. His teams have won 28 conference titles and have appeared in 56 post season games.
Eric Hamilton – College of New Jersey
Eric Hamilton completed his 31st season as the head coach for the College of New Jersey Lions this year. Hamilton has been the coach of seven New Jersey Athletic Conference championship teams. In 1977, Hamilton was named the Lions' head coach when he was only 23 years old. At that time, he was the youngest collegiate coach in the country.
Joe King – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
King led the RPI Engineers to an 8-2 record this year and a bid into the NCSS Tournament. King completed his 19th year this season. He and his assistants were selected as the Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year for the fifth time in his career earlier this season.
Mike Swider – Wheaton College.
The 2007 season marked Mike Swider's 12th as head coach at Wheaton. Since taking over the program in 1996, Swider has posted a 88-27 record. He also holds the seventh-highest winning percentage of any active Division III. Swider's program has produced 22 All-Americans. He finished 18th in the fan voting category.
