On Dec. 14, 2014, MSU Director of Athletics Kyle Moats and President Clif M. Smart III announced the hire of former University of Missouri associate head coach and defensive coordinator Dave Steckel as Missouri State’s 20th head football coach.
In his first three years leading the MSU program, Steckel and his talented staff set about the task of overhauling a young Bears squad, heavily emphasizing the fundamental aspects of the game. Capitalizing on a renewed enthusiasm surrounding the MSU program, Steckel laid the groundwork for enhancing relations with area high school coaches, engaging the community and raising the bar with his “Bear Up” mentality. The efforts paid off at the gate, as the Bears drew an average of 10,067 fans per game over the 2015-16 seasons.
Last year, the Bears registered dramatic signs of improvement, particularly on the offensive side of the football. MSU's ground attack, led by dual-threat quarterback Peyton Huslig, led the Missouri Valley Football Conference in rushing during league play throughout most of the Valley season. The Bears ultimately finished sixth overall in the MVFC in rushing yards per game (169.4 ypg.), posting a 32-percent increase in total rushing yards per outing from 2016.
The MSU special teams thrived once again, ranking among the Valley's top three units in kickoff return average, punt return average, punt average and field goals made per game.
On the field in 2016, the Bears engineered a three-win turnaround from the previous fall, bolting from the gate with wins in three of their first four games, including victories in their first two road contests against FCS competition.
MSU knocked off No. 24 Indiana State in Terre Haute in its 2016 Valley opener, handing the Bears their first victory over a ranked foe since Oct. 19, 2013 (vs. No. 15 South Dakota State) and the program's first win vs. a Top 25 squad on the road since an Oct. 20, 2012 decision over No. 11 Illinois State in Normal. The win also represented the largest margin of victory against a ranked road foe in the 105-year history of the program.
Individually, seven Bears garnered All-MVFC recognition, led by repeat first-teamers Dylan Cole and Deion Holliman. Cole was a unanimous first-team All-America selection and finished third in the balloting for the Buck Buchanan Award, completing his four-year Missouri State career as the FCS's leading tackler before signing a free agent deal with the NFL's Houston Texans in April.
Steckel brings 36 years of coaching experience into the 2018 season, including 14 seasons at Mizzou, in which he helped transform the Tigers defense into one of the strongest units in the nation. He was the only defensive coach among the five finalists for the 2014 Frank Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach. He helped produce a total of 15 all-conference linebacker selections at MU, including a number of players who have forged professional careers in the National Football League.
Under Steckel’s tutelage, Missouri’s defense was a driving force in the Tigers’ back-to-back Southeastern Conference East Division titles in 2013 and 2014. MU led the SEC and ranked 10th nationally in sacks per game in 2014. The Tiger defense finished first or second in every major statistical category in SEC play last fall en route to propelling Mizzou to its fifth conference divisional championship in eight seasons.
MU also ranked 23rd in the country in total defense and 19th in scoring defense in 2014, while the Tigers led the SEC in total defense (300.8 yds/game).
In 2013, the MU defense was fifth nationally in interceptions (20), eighth in total turnovers forced (32), and an SEC-best 2.93 sacks per game. This boosted the Tigers to a 12-win season and a Cotton Bowl victory over Oklahoma State.
Individually, “Stec” currently has 10 different Mizzou defenders playing in the NFL, including five who have garnered All-America recognition since his elevation to defensive coordinator in 2009. Most recently, Shane Ray became the second Tiger in as many years to be named SEC Defensive Player of the Year after breaking the program’s single-season record for sacks (14.0) in 2014. Michael Sam earned the same honor in 2013. Aldon Smith picked up Big 12 Conference Defensive Newcomer of the Year in 2009, which helped kickstart Mizzou’s reputation as “DLine U.”
Overall, Steckel helped coach Missouri to 10 bowl appearances during his tenure in Columbia, including five seasons with 10 or more wins. The Tigers compiled a 112-66 (.629) overall record in his 14 seasons, while their five divisional titles since 2007 tied Alabama and Florida State for the top total in the NCAA Division I FBS ranks during that stretch.
One of the Tigers’ top recruiters, Steckel helped stock Mizzou’s roster with numerous standout performers while overseeing the program’s recruiting efforts in the fertile prep gridiron grounds of Texas. Steckel joined Gary Pinkel’s coaching staff at MU in 2001 after spending five seasons as a defensive line and linebackers coach at Rutgers University.
With the Scarlet Knights, Steckel coached a pair of All-Big East performers, both of whom went on to play in the NFL. He also served as one of Rutgers’ primary recruiters, inking 14 players in his first three seasons.
Prior to joining head coach Terry Shea’s Rutgers staff, Steckel worked with Pinkel at Toledo for four years, highlighted by the Rockets’ undefeated 1995 season that included a Mid-American Conference title and a No. 24 final ranking. He tutored six All-MAC selections as UT’s defensive line coach, including Dan Williams, who was picked 11th overall by Denver in the 1993 NFL Draft.
A Fullerton, Pa., native, Steckel served as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at Dickinson College from 1986-87 and made a stop at Lehigh before heading to Toledo. He broke into the coaching ranks with stops at Miami (Ohio), Ball State and Minnesota.
Steckel is the younger brother of longtime NFL coach Les Steckel. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1975-78 and played four seasons as an offensive lineman at Kutztown University, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education in 1982. Steckel also earned a master’s degree from Miami (Ohio).
Steckel and his wife, Mary Beth, have a daughter, Amanda.
