Head Coach Duey Naatz
Duey Naatz begins his first season as head coach for the Blue Devils.
Naatz, who was a UW-Stout assistant coach under three different head coaches, was named the interim coach in January. Naatz begins his 18th year with the Blue Devils where he has coached the defensive backs, running backs and offensive line. He has been the assistant head coach for the last eight seasons and has also been the offensive coordinator.
Over the years at Stout, Naatz has worked with several All-Americans, including linemen Jason Lehman, Josh Towner, Jeff Hutter and Ben Knepper, as well as quarterback Matt Bunyan, who led NCAA Division III in total offense and running back Luke Bundgaard, who set school rushing and scoring records. Naatz also coached Lehman to a national shot put title in track.
Contact Information:
- naatzd@uwstout.edu
- 715-232-2758
- 242 Sports & Fitness Center
A graduate of Moorhead (Minn.) State and a varsity football letterwinner, Naatz has been Stout's strength and conditioning coordinator for all sports. He has served as an assistant track coach where he worked with the weight events, producing a national champion and numerous All-America winners. His weight programs consistently produce National Strength and Conditioning Association All-Americans. He has been the physical education and athletic department's facility manager, has coordinated the physical education curriculum schedule and has been the coaching minor coordinator.
A native of Wheaton, Minn., Naatz came to Menomonie from the University of North Dakota where he served as a graduate assistant for the NCAA Division II Fighting Sioux football team.
Naatz and his wife, Kay, have two sons, Tyler and Adam. He is active in the community, working with his church youth group, youth baseball and basketball programs and has served as the chair of the local Duck Unlimited chapter. An avid outdoorsman, Naatz enjoys hunting and fishing.
Mark Thomas - Linebackers
Mark
Thomas heads into his 22nd season as a Blue Devil football assistant where
he has coached on both sides of the ball and handled just about every position.
Thomas is in his eighth year with the linebackers after four years as the
receivers coach. Thomas is the Blue Devils' women's basketball coach where
he has been five times named the WIAC coach of the year and once the regional
coach of the year. Thomas took the women's basketball program from a few
wins a year to seven national appearances in either the NAIA or NCAA tournaments.
Thomas' basketball teams stress speed, and his linebacking corp will feature
the same, with some of the quickest 'backers in the conference. Thomas,
a UW-Superior graduate, coached the girl's basketball team and was an assistant
football coach at Spring Valley High School, his alma mater. In the summer,
Thomas enjoys auto racing in the Menomonie area. He and his wife, Tracy,
have two daughters, Leslie and Lindsay, and a son, Mitchell. | thomasm@uwstout.edu | 715-232-2465
Mike Bird - Defensive Line, Special Teams Coordinator
Mike
Bird begins his 12th year as a Blue Devil assistant. Bird is in fourth year
as the running backs coach and as the special teams coodinatior after four
seasons with the linebackers. Bird worked four years as the offensive line
coach. Bird, a former Menomonie High School standout, was recruited by then
Southwest State assistant and former Blue Devil head coach Ed Meierkort, and
went on to start four years for the Golden Mustangs, earning all-conference
honors for the perenially top 10 ranked team that was also one of the top
offensive producing machines in the NAIA. He coached two years at Southwest,
one year with the offensive line and another with the running backs. Bird
wears many hats around Stout's Sports & Fitness Center, where he is also
an assistant women's softball coach, events coordinator and equipment manager.
Bird, and his wife, Jodi, reside in Menomonie, with their daughter, Mackenzie,
and son, Tucker.
| birdm@uwstout.edu | 715-232-1423
Sean Hoolihan - Offensive Coordinator
Sean Hoolihan begins his first year as the offensive coordinator after two years as the Blue Devils' quarterback coach, but the former UW-Eau Claire standout quarterback is very familiar with the league and the area. The Spring Valley, Wis., native led the Blugolds to the 1998 NCAA Division III semi-final. Hoolihan, a first team all-WIAC pick and three year starter at Eau Claire, played and coached professional football in Germany for the Franken Knights, where the Knights won the league championship. Hoolihan went on to serve as a graduate assistant football coach at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. He then played professionally for a number of indoor football leagues: the Peoria Pirates (AFL2), the Duluth Lumberjacks (IFL) and the La Crosse Night Train (NIFL). Hoolihan went on to teach at Wadena-Deer Creek, Minn, High School, where he was the football offensive coordinator and the head women's basketball coach. Hoolihan is an intructor in the UW-Stout Physical Education and Athletics department, is the event management coordinator and is pursing his masters in education. Hoolihan currently resides in Spring Valley. | hoolihans@uwstout.edu | 715-232-5188
Clayt Birmingham - Defensive Coordinator
Clayt Birmingham begins his first season as the UW-Stout defensive coordinator. Birmingham, a former all-conference defensive back at UW-Stevens Point, has coached on the college level at Division I, II and III schools, as well as coached one summer professionally in Europe. In the summer of 2007, Birmingham was a member of the coaching staff for the US National Football team that competed at the World Championship of American Football in Japan. Birmingham coached five seasons (2006, 2005, 2003, 2002, 2001) at Division II Emporia State in Kansas where he was the defensive coordinator and worked individually with the defensive line and defensive backs. Under Birmingham's direction, the Hornets defense allowed only 284.7 yards per game in 2003. The Hornets' defense ranked 17th nationally in 2003 and posted a record of 9-3, advancing to the NCAA Division II playoffs. Birmingham spent two seasons at NCAA Division I Western Michigan, as the defensive secondary coach in 2004 and as a graduate assistant defensive coach in 2000. The 2000 Broncos were 9-3 and won the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. His duties included coaching the defensive secondary, film breakdown and defensive quality control. In 1998-99, Birmingham was a graduate assistant receivers coach at Northern Michigan. He spent the summer of 1998 as the head coach of the Stockholm's Swedish National Championship team in the European Federation of American Football, leading the team to an 11-3 record. Birmingham's first coaching experience was at his alma mater UW-Stevens Point from 1996-97 where he coached the secondary and outside linebackers, including the Detroit Lions 1999 sixth round draft pick Clint Kriewaldt. A four year starter, Birmingham was a two-time All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) defensive back at UW-Stevens Point (1995, 1994). In 1994, Birmingham was the WIAC interceptions co-leader. Birmingham is a native of Sturgeon Bay and a graduate of Southern Door High School. | birminghamc@uwstout.edu | 715-232-2203
Dan McCarty - Offensive Line
Dan McCarty begins his first year as the UW-Stout offensive line coach. McCarty, a former All-American tight end at UW-Eau Claire, brings a varied background to the position. McCarty has coached and played at all levels from youth football to high school to college to European professional.
After he completed his playing days at UW-Eau Claire in 1997, McCarty played linebacker for the Franken Knights in Germany in 1998 and for the Green Bay Bombers of the Indoor Football League in 1999. McCarty got his coaching start with the Blugolds, working with the tight ends in 1998, then coached the wide receivers at the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 1999 and 2000. While in Duluth, where he received is undergraduate degree in Exercise Science, he also coached the Duluth/Superior Lumberjacks of the Indoor Football League during the 2000 season. The offensive coordinator, he served as the head coach the final six games of the season. In the summer of 2001, McCarty went overseas and coached the Eidsvoll 1814s to the Norwegian national football championships. McCarty returned home to Sturgeon Bay, Wis., where he coached in the Sturgeon Bay School District from 2002-06, serving as the offensive coordinator and assistant head coach, while also working with the Door County Sheriff's Department. An all-conference linebacker and tight end at Sturgeon Bay High School, McCarty was awarded a scholarship to Eastern Michigan in 1992, but transferred to Northern Michigan in 1993. He transferred to UW-Eau Claire in 1996. McCarty will pursue a masters degree at Stout in education.
| mccartyd@uwstout.edu | 715-232-5234
Travis Destache - Defensive Backs
Travis
Destache begins his second year as a Blue Devil assistant and will work with
the defensive backs. An all-conference player and two year team captain
at Minnesota-Morris, Destache is pursuing his masters in Training &
Development. A native of Mahtomedi, Minn., Destache was born in Menomonie
when his parents were UW-Stout students.
| destachet@uwstout.edu | 715-232-5226
Keldric Stokes - Quarterbacks
Keldric Stokes, a native of Benton Harbor, Mich., begins his first year as a Blue Devil assistant and will work with the quarterbacks. Stokes began his collegiate career at Huron College, where he was an All-American performer. When the school closed, Stokes transferred to Stout in 2005 and started as the Blue Devils’ quarterback his senior year, passing for 1157 yards and 12 touchdowns. Stokes plays amateur football with the Eau Claire Predators, where he was an all-star.
Ryan Englebert - Running Backs
After an outstanding career with the Blue Devils, Ryan Englebert begins his first year as an assistant coach and will work with the running backs. Englebert is the third leading rusher in school history, tallying 2620 yards. Englebert, who was in the Cinncinati Bengels training camp this summer, is from Sturgeon Bay and started his collegiate career at Wisconsin. Englebert will also work with the school’s strength and conditioning program.
Luke Wagner - Wide Receivers
Luke Wagner begins his first year as a Blue Devil assistant. Wagner hails from St. Paul, Minn., where he was a three-year letterwinner at Cretin-Derham Hall. Wagner, who started three games for the Blue Devils as a true freshman before a career-ending injury in the final game of the season, is majoring in business.