Football Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Kevin Kiesel

Kevin Kiesel begins his third year at the helm of the Quakers' football team and returns 44 letter winners from last season's club that posted a 6-4 overall record, Guilford's best since 1997.  Guilford has enjoyed record-setting offensive seasons in Kiesel's first two years. Two-time All-American receiver Chris Barnette '08 led all NCAA Divisions in 2005 with 101 receptions and become Guilford's 35th football All-American.  Kiesel has also coached three all-region students and Josh Vogelbach, the Quakers' first ODAC Rookie of the Year, who set four NCAA Division III freshman passing records.

Kiesel took over as Guilford's 22nd head football coach March 1, 2005, and owns a 75-68-1 career record in 13 years as a head coach (11-9 at Guilford). The 1981 Gettysburg coached NCAA Division II Millersville (Pa.) University from 2001-04.  The Marauders went 15-27 in that time, including 5-5 in 2004. Nine student-athletes from the 2004 unit earned first or second team All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference honors and the Marauders' passing offense ranked second in the league. Off the field, Kiesel instituted successful academic and fund-raising programs that raised the team's grade point average and aided retention rates.


Kiesel has a track record of developing non-scholarship programs. He made his head-coaching debut in 1993 at Albright College where he inherited an 0-10 unit. By the time he left, the Lions went 15-15-1 in three seasons, including 8-3 in 1995. Albright won the 1995 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Southwest Championship Game, the school's first postseason victory. He also served as Albright's associate athletic director and developed programs and local relationships that enhanced the college's facilities.


Fairfield University made Kiesel its first head football coach when it started the sport in 1996. He built the Division I-AA non-scholarship program from scratch and shaped the Stags into one of the top programs of its kind. After a 1-8 start, Fairfield enjoyed the second-best single-season turnaround in Division I-AA with a 7-3 mark in 1997. The Stags won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title in 1998, their third year of existence, and posted a 9-2 record. Kiesel captured the league's Coach of the Year Award and his club led Division I-AA in total defense and rushing defense. Fairfield's 1999 unit also went 9-2 and ranked fifth among the nation's Division I-AA non-scholarship teams. The 2000 club compiled an 8-2 record and ranked seventh in the country.


Kiesel's coaching experience also includes stops at the U.S. Naval Academy where he worked alongside former coach George Chaump from 1991-93. He spent five seasons as an assistant coach on Larry Glueck's football staff at Fordham University in New York City. Kiesel has also coached at Temple University, Gettysburg, and Kentucky University. He broke into the coaching ranks as a graduate assistant at West Chester University, where he received his master's degree in health and physical education in 1983.


A Scranton, Pa., native, Kiesel also grew up in King of Prussia, Pa., and attended Malvern Preparatory School. He and his wife, Annette, have three school-age children: Julianne, Eddie and Bobby.

The Kevin Kiesel File

Personal
Name: Kevin Robert Kiesel
Born: July 6, 1959, in Scranton, Pa.
 

Education
Malvern Preparatory School, 1977
Gettysburg College, B.S. in health and physical education, 1981
West Chester University, M.Ed. in health and physical education, 1983
 

Playing Experience

Malvern Prep - Football
Gettysburg College- Football, team captain (1980)
 

Coaching Experience
1981-83 - graduate assistant coach, West Chester University, West Chester, Pa
1983-84 - assistant coach, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky.
1984-85 - assistant football coach/head wrestling coach, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pa.
1985-86 - assistant coach, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa.
1986-89 - assistant coach/recruiting coordinator, Fordham University, Bronx, N.Y.
1989-91 - assistant coach/offensive coordinator, Fordham University, Bronx, N.Y.
1991-92 - assistant coach/defensive tackles, U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.
1992-93 - assistant coach/special teams coordinator, U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.
1993-95 - head football coach/associate athletic director, Albright College, Reading, Pa.
1996-01 - head football coach, Fairfield University, Fairfield, Conn.
2001-04 - head football coach, Millersville University, Lancaster, Pa.

2005-present - head football coach, Guilford College, Greensboro, N.C.
 

Collegiate Head Coaching Records
Albright - 15-15-1, three years, (.500)

Fairfield - 34-17, five years, (.667)

Guilford - 11-9, two years (.550)
Millersville - 15-27, four years (.357)
Overall - 75-68-1, 13 years, (.521)
 

Head Coaching Honors
1998 - Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Coach of the Year