Coaching great Jerome Souers is new MSU-Northern head man

The Montana State University-Northern football program has had some very dark times as of late. Friday night however, the spotlight was shining bright on the Lights once again.

Northern announced the hiring of its new head football coach Friday, in former Northern Arizona head man Jerome Souers. 

"I've coached for over 40 years now, and most recently retired, and then stepped back in as an assistant coach with Southern Oregon University. My time with SOU has been a truly wonderful experience, and I love the people and the program, but I've just gotten a different perspective on life due to recent personal events, and I decided that the chance to build a program at MSU-N was a really exciting opportunity for me," Souers said. "I'm excited to have an opportunity to coach in a state that I'm very familiar with. In many ways, it is like coming home, as some of my fondest memories and friendship were formed in Montana, these are people that I've had long-standing relationships with. And the people at MSU-Northern are phenomenal; they're clearly such an intensely collaborative group. So I can't wait to join the community and be a part of that." 

While Souers made a name for himself at NAU, where he was the program's winningest all-time coach, he also has strong ties to the Treasure State. He was an assistant coach at Montana for 12 years, and ascended to defensive coordinator for the Griz under Don Read, helping the Grizzlies to the 1995 NCAA 1-AA national championship. 

The Grizzlies posted winning records every year during his stay, earned seven playoff berths, advanced to two national title games, and won a championship in 1995. They competed as a runner-up in the national championship game in '96 and made national playoffs in 1988, '89, '93, '94, '95, '96 and '97. During the title run, Souers' defense became the first in NCAA history to register back-to-back playoff shutouts.

Souers then headed off to Flagstaff, where he ultimately became the most successful coach by wins in Big Sky history. Souers finished his tenure at Northern Arizona University - NAU - in 2018 as the Big Sky's Conference's all-time leader in victories. He compiled a 123-114 career record, making him the winningest coach in school history. As the head football coach at NAU, he demonstrated a 21-year record of achievement in enhancing academic performance, positive social conduct, and athletic success for their student athletes. He led their team to national playoffs in 1999, 2001, 2003, 2013 and 2017.

Souers was the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year in 1999 and the Eddie Robinson finalist in 2003. He was named the top head coach at the NCAA Division I-AA level, after leading the NAU Lumberjacks to their first Big Sky championship in 25 years, and an appearance in the national quarterfinal round. In total, the Lumberjacks made five postseason appearances under his direction and went 85-77 in Big Sky play.

"Jerome Souers is without a doubt one of the greatest coaches in the NCAA Division I history. I am very pleased and excited that he has agreed to head up the Northern Lights football team," MSU-Northern Chancellor Greg Kegel said. "We pride ourselves on our ability to take students who are often at the bottom of the economic ladder and help them climb to the top of the economic ladder. Bringing in a coach like Souers will help our football team rise to the top of the Frontier Conference and compete for a national title."

Souers began his coaching career at his alma mater, North Eugene High, while attending the University of Oregon, where he graduated with a degree in physical education in 1983. He also made stops at Western Washington University and Portland State University. Most recently, Souers served as Southern Oregon University's Defensive Coordinator.

"MSU-Northern is very lucky to have landed a head coach like Jerome Souers with not only the experience but the passion and ability to develop both great football players and student-athletes," MSU-N athletic director Christian Oberquell said. "MSU-Northern football has a great base of returning players and, with the recruiting ability that coach Souers has, MSU-Northern will put a very solid and talented team on the field. I would like to welcome coach Souers to the Northern Family."

And Souers is equally excited to be a part of the Northern family as well.

"Chancellor Kegel is very intent on having a football program that espouses greatness in all areas," he said. "And people always ask 'how many wins?' but it's not about the wins - it's about how many guys we can get to compete at their highest potential. And then, usually, the results are going to speak for themselves. When you can achieve that with your entire team, the wins are going to come. But our focus is on their development, their understanding, and their potential. We'll be focusing on all the elements that it takes to build a successful teams."

Souers becomes Northern's third head coach since 2014, and he replaces Andrew Rolin, who resigned in November.