When Drake assistant head football coach Neal Neathery confirmed last week that he had interviewed for the UTSA defensive coordinator’s job, he was evasive when asked if he was joining the Roadrunners’ staff.
“I really can’t say anything about that at this time,” Neathery said “I wish I could say more, but I can’t.”
While Neathery wouldn’t confirm whether UTSA coach Larry Coker had offered him the post, he didn’t deny it, either.
That was a strong indicator Neathery was bound for San Antonio, and why kens5.com reported he probably would be the Roadrunners’ first defensive coordinator.
And so he will be.
UTSA announced Tuesday that Coker has hired Neathery, 39, to lead the Roadrunners’ defense and coach linebackers.
“He was extremely impressive when he came in for his interview,” Coker said. “Neal has done a great job in all areas everywhere he’s been. He knows his stuff and is the total package. He’s an outstanding coach, has outstanding character, and works well with kids. Neal is the type of person we want coaching at UTSA.”
Neathery was born in the East Texas town of Longview, but graduated from Stillwater High School in Stillwater, Okla. He was a starting defensive end for four seasons (1989-92) at Wheaton (Ill.) College.
Coker was an assistant coach at Oklahoma State, located in Stillwater, from 1983-89. Coker knew Neathery’s parents casually, but doesn’t recall much about Neathery.
“Of course, he was just a kid back then,” Coker said. “Neal came to our summer football camps, but I don’t remember much about him.”
Neathery is the seventh assistant coach Coker has hired since becoming the Roadrunners’ first head coach last March. The other six are offensive coordinator Travis Bush, Tony Jeffery, Jim Marshall, Mike Menefee, Eric Roark and David Ross.
UTSA, which signed its first recruiting class last month, plays its inaugural season 2011. The Roadrunners will start out as an independent in the NCAA’s Football Championship Subdivision, formerly Division I-AA, and will play their home games at the Alamodome.
UTSA plans to notify the NCAA in June 2013 that it intends to join the Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, in 2015. The Roadrunners, UTSA officials have said, will comply with FBS standards during the 2013 and 2014 seasons, and seek FBS membership and bowl eligibility in 2015.
Neathery said last week that the prospect of coaching on Coker’s staff at a university in San Antonio, which he described as a “great city,” motivated him to apply for a job at UTSA.
Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Drake the past two seasons, Neathery handled the same duties at Wabash College for seven years before joining the Drake staff in January 2008. He was named Division III Assistant Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association after his final season at Wabash.
“I am really excited about the challenge and potential that UTSA ahead,” Neathery said in a statement released by UTSA. “There’s something to be said about having a chance to do something that’s never been done before. It’s a great opportunity.
“I’m particularly excited about working with Coach Coker and the staff he has already assembled. Coach is a man of high character, and I admire what he’s already accomplished in his career and what I think he will accomplish at UTSA. He has hired some outstanding coaches already, so I’m just excited to be a part of it and ready to get to work.”
Neathery could not be reached for further comment Tuesday.
Drake head football coach Chris Creighton has known Neathery since 1993, and coached with him for 13 years at three different schools.
"Neal is my best friend and the best football coach I know," said Creighton, who hired Neathery at Ottawa (Kan.) University, Wabash and Drake. "He's also an incredible husband and father. He's what I call an impact man.
"He has changed a lot of kids' lives in the 13 years we've been together. I've seen this with my own eyes. One of our players even named his son after him, so that tells you what kind of influence Neal has on the guys he coaches."
Drake competes in the NCAA’s Football Championship Subdivision, formerly Division I-AA, and is a member of the Pioneer Football League. Drake finished 8-3 overall and 6-2 in conference play last season.
The Pioneer Football League is the only non-scholarship conference in the Football Championship Subdivision that offers football as its only sport.
Other schools in the PFL besides Drake are Butler, Campbell, Davidson, Dayton, Jacksonville, Marist, Morehead State, San Diego and Valparaiso.
“Neal’s a good recruiter,” Coker said. “He does a good job of evaluating talent.”
Drake, located in Des Moines, Iowa, went 14-8 with Neathery as its defensive coordinator the past two seasons.
The Bulldogs finished in the top 12 in four defensive categories in the final 2009 FCS statistics – No. 2 in tackles for loss (8.83 per game), No. 5 in sacks (3.27), No. 8 in rushing defense (90.55) and No. 12 in total defense (276.45).
Neathery had similar success at Wabash, which also is a non-scholarship program. The Little Giants were No. 4 in Division III total defense in 2003, No. 3 in scoring defense in 2005 and No. 8 in sacks in 2007.
“He coaches the attacking style of defense that we want to play at UTSA,” Coker said.
Said Creighton: "That defense will swarm to the football."
To hear Creighton tell it, the Roadrunners' defense won't lack for intensity or effort with Neathery at its leader.
"They'll play what I call 'hard hat D,'" Creighton said. "When you play for Neal, you bring your hard hat and lunch pail and you come to work every day. It's a blue-collar mentality. He has as high a standard and organizational skills as any coach in America. He's a brilliant tactician, but he also has the ability to motivate his players.
"They'll be steady, too. They won't be up and down. He has a standard of excellence that starts in the meeting room and permeates the practice field."
Neathery was defensive coordinator at Ottawa (Kan.) University, which competes in the NAIA, for four seasons before going to Wabash. He began his coaching career with a three-year stint at Sterling (Kan.) College in 1994.
Neathery graduated from Wheaton in 1993 with a degree in business/economics and bible and theology. He also a master’s degree in health and human performances. from Fort Wayne (Ind.) State.
