February 19

DC Football Adds Bowers to Coaching Staff

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance College has announced the hiring of Chris Bowers as its new Defensive Coordinator. Bowers most recently served as the Assistant Defensive Backs Coach at Northwestern University and brings nearly four years of experience in the Big Ten with him to the Purple and Gold.

“Chris brings a great deal to the table for our program,” Head Coach Rob Taylor said. “He has a lot of experience recruiting at a top notch Big Ten program in Northwestern University and brings a lot of positive energy to our program. Chris has worked with some unbelievable head coaches in Dan Simrell, Randy Walker and Pat Fitzgerald, and possesses a tremendous amount of knowledge in defensive scheming.”

Bowers joins the Yellow Jackets after spending the past four years with Northwestern. During his time with the Wildcats, Bowers worked as an assistant in the Football Operations as well as Recruiting Departments, while also serving as the Assistant Defensive Backs Coach.

Under Bowers’ watchful eye, the Northwestern secondary ranked seventh in the nation in interceptions and 12th in takeaways during the 2005 season.

Prior to his time at Northwestern, Bowers worked on staff at the University of Findlay as a graduate assistant and defensive assistant for the defensive backs and special teams.

Bowers is no stranger to Defiance College as he has five direct relatives who attended DC, including his grandfather Joe Bowers who was inducted into the Alumni Varsity D Hall of Fame in 1975. His wife, Christina, also has two uncles who graduated from DC.

“Christina and I are excited to be joining the Defiance College Football Family,” Bowers stated. “With such strong ties to the college, we feel this is more of a homecoming than a new beginning.”

The Lima Senior High School product graduated from Wittenberg in 1999 and will take over the reigns of one of the top defensive units in the Heartland Conference over the past several seasons.

Defiance ended the 2006 campaign ranked fourth in the nation in total defense, seventh in pass efficiency defense and 12th in rushing defense, while topping the HCAC in all three categories. The Jackets allowed just 197 total yards per game and 68.8 yards per contest on the ground. DC’s secondary was equally imposing, holding the opposition to an 85.5 rating.

“Obviously last year’s defense at Defiance was outstanding, if not exceptional,” Bowers remarked. “I realize that we graduated eight starters from that unit, but the returners are passionate about the game of football and I have been impressed with their work ethic and commitment. Those intangibles can go a long way towards building another strong defensive unit.”

The Yellow Jackets will begin their 2007 campaign on Sep. 1 at Otterbein.