When Patrick Ross took over the Lindenwood football program in the spring of 2004, it was safe to say there was only one way to go, and that was up. In the three previous seasons, the Lions had won a total of seven games and finished second to last in the conference twice.
Six short years later, Ross has Lindenwood on the cusp of its first ever national title, and to say the program has come a long way would be an injustice. Only once in the history of the program had the football team finished third or higher in the Heart of America Athletic Conference prior to his arrival. During Ross’ tenure, only once has the team finished outside the top three.
Ross is in his eighth season as a college football coach, the first two having been spent at Ottawa (Kan.) University. Fresh off a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference championship and a birth in the NAIA playoffs, Ross had always been intrigued by the possibility of coaching at Lindenwood.
“I heard all about this place called Lindenwood when I was at Ottawa and Kansas Wesleyan, and I know Dave Douse, a guy I worked for in the past, he was from the St. Louis area and had mentioned Lindenwood a few times. So over the years I kept an eye on it, seeing how things were going on here knowing if it ever opened up, that we would probably want to take a look at the chance of going and coaching there,” said Ross.
For Ross, that job did open up and he wasted no time submitting his name as a potential hire.
“When I found the job opened, drove over and took a look at St. Charles and the school and felt it would be a good fit,” remarks Ross.
Coach Ross has won three HAAC championships while at Lindenwood.
The school shared the same sentiments about Ross and he took over shortly after.
In his first season, he led the Lions to their first ever conference championship and undefeated season. Hastings (Neb.) would upset Lindenwood in the first round of the playoffs, but the groundwork had been laid.
The Lions have added two more conference titles since then, and are appearing in the NAIA playoffs for the third straight season.
“They had won seven games in three years, so obviously it has come full circle at this point,” said Ross. “I wish I could sit here and say it’s all because we came in as coaches and changed everything, obviously the staff was a part of it.”
Offensive coordinator Craig Schuler and defensive coordinator Shawn Nagel have been with Ross since the beginning and he believes they have played a big role in developing the program.
“Staff is continuity is huge at this level. It’s important for guys to know what to expect,” claims Ross, who has won National Coach of the Year honors twice. “Our jobs have all gotten easier over the last few years because we have been together for so long, we are all comfortable with dealing with each other.”
Nagel and Schuler each had a big hand in helping Coach Ross change the image of the program, both inside and out.
“I think the most important thing was the chemistry of the team. More important about winning as a program rather than individually, that’s the number one difference,” asserts Nagel
Ross took it even further. “When I first got in here, I felt the program needed a disciplinarian. My rule at that point was to set the standards high and if guys weren’t meeting the standards, there would be major consequences.”
Ross and Nagel have been coaching together since their days at Kansas Wesleyan. Schuler, who also applied for the head coaching position at Lindenwood, contacted Ross shortly after his hiring and inquired about possibly joining the staff. Ross believed Schuler’s experience in the HAAC would be beneficial to the program and brought him on as an assistant coach.
At the time, Schuler was coaching high school football in Georgia, but had spent years at Benedictine and Avila.
“All the time I was at Benedictine, we always said that’s a place were you could win a national
Craig Schuler (left) joined Coach Ross shortly after his hiring.
championship every year,” said Schuler. “If anybody ever got in there and knew what they were doing, it would be all over.”
Coach Ross and his staff have done just that. The Lions are no longer just a big player in the HAAC, but are now a central figure on the national level too. Since their arrival, everyone knew it was just a matter of time before Lindenwood would join the elite.
Being only one of two universities in the St Louis metropolitan area that fields a football team–Washington University being the other–Lindenwood has been able to harvest some of the better recruits in the area.
“I knew it was about to pop, if somebody got in the position that knew how to recruit and run things year around. So our timing was perfect, we didn’t expect to be 11-0 the first year, but knew we had the ability to be good each year,” added Schuler.
It’s a two way street though as Nagel points out, “We hire good people. That’s the most important thing, hiring good people to work around. The “X’s” and “O’s” will come, smarter, hard working, but character of the coaches comes from the character of the kids.”
All three coaches, from day one, believed in doing things the right way and with an opportunity to reach the pinnacle of the NAIA level, its means a great deal to them.
“To some extent, its validation, you are doing the right thing. You always wondering, should we lift different? Should we do things different in the spring?” said Schuler. “Bottom line, it’s a results driven business, so if the results are 13-0 or 14-1, indications are you doing something right.”
“I think it starts and ends at the top. We really made a commitment that, bottom line it is Coach Ross’ program,” added Nagel. “Obviously we have a big hand in it as far coaches, but it really starts at the top and he has taken ownership on it.”
All three coaches look forward to the challenge on Saturday. For them, the national title game will be a culmination of six years of hard work and preparation, but it will also be just another 60 minutes in which these three can do what they enjoy the most, just being coaches.