Dekalb, Ill. ? Northern Illinois reached into the Big Ten as it completed a whirlwind search on Monday for its new head football coach.
Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Doeren was introduced as the school’s 21st head coach at an afternoon news conference, just eight days former coach Jerry Kill departed for Minnesota.
“I’m very fortunate to be walking into a place that has the pride and the success and the facilities and the expectations and the academic integrity that this university has,” Doeren said. “I know (former coach Joe) Novak and coach Kill and I know what they stand for. I’m very, very proud to stand on what they’ve created. I’m not walking into a rebuilding job.”
A Wisconsin assistant since 2006, the 39-year-old Doeren has been defensive coordinator the last two seasons and will coach the Badgers against TCU in the Rose Bowl next month.
A Kansas native, Doeren was a four-year letter winner and academic All-American at Drake.
From 2002-04, he was Kansas University’s linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator and was named Jayhawks co-defensive coordinator in 2005. He left for Wisconsin the next year and became defensive coordinator in 2008.
