Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
There has been a lot of moving and shaking on the Minnesota Gophers’ defensive coaching staff this offseason.
That’s nothing new for a team that lost three defensive coordinators in three offseasons from 2023 to 2025. But this winter, DC Danny Collins is staying put, while everything else is shuffled around him… sometimes more than once.
It started when PJ Fleck let DL coach Dennis Dottin-Carter go right after the 2025 regular season ended. That led to the promotion of CJ Robbins from rush ends coach to defensive line coach.
Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
To fill Robbins’ old job, the Minnesota Gophers went for an outside hire — 72-year-old Bobby April III — who came from Stanford with all sorts of impressive college and NFL experience.
Unfortunately, April didn’t even make it through one Minnesota winter. On February 1, five weeks after he was hired, news broke that April was leaving Dinkytown in favor of a job offer from the Buffalo Bills.
Minnesota Gophers hire another new rush ends coach
That left PJ Fleck suddenly in need of a new rush ends coach, so late in the cycle that options had to be extremely slim. It took almost a couple of weeks, but on Wednesday, the Gophers got their guy (again).
Steve Stanard is a veteran (~60 y/o) college football coach who’s spent time all over the college football map, most notably at Syracuse, Wyoming and NDSU, before he spent the past six seasons as linebackers coach at Kansas State.
Sources: Minnesota is expected to hire Steve Stanard as the school’s new rush ends coach. He’s spent the last six seasons at Kansas State as the linebackers coach. He’s worked at Syracuse, Wyoming and North Dakota State prior to Kansas State. pic.twitter.com/T9ZtsLhRk2
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 11, 2026
Steve Stanard started his coaching journey as a graduate assistant at Nebraska in 1988. He joined the coaching staff after a quiet playing career with the Cornhuskers from 1984 to 1987.
Stanard didn’t play much while at Nebraska. In fact, I can’t find a single statistic to his name. But since I looked it up anyway, it might be worth noting that the Huskers went 39-9 and went to two Sugar Bowls (won one) while Stanard was enrolled there and on the team.
Coaching record of new Gophers assistant Steve Stanard
After his two year graduate stint with his alma mater, Steve Stanard became the defensive coordinator at Nebraska Wesleyan. By 1994, Stanard was hired as Wesleyan’s head coach, a job he held for just two seasons, until a 6-14 record ended that experiment.
When he left Wesleyan, Steve Stanard held a variety of defensive coaching positions around the college football landscape, but never got another chance to be a head coach… which is interesting.
YearCoaching Stops1988Nebraska – SA1989–1990Nebraska – GA1991–1993Nebraska Wesleyan – DC1994–1995Nebraska Wesleyan – HC1996South Dakota – DC1997–1999New Mexico State – DE/OLB2000–2002New Mexico State – DC/LB2003–2007Colorado State – DC/LB2008Ohio – DL2009–2011Tulane – DC/LB2012–2013North Dakota State – LB2014–2016Wyoming – DC/LB2017–2019Syracuse – DE2020–2025Kansas State – LB2026Minnesota – Rush EndsSteve Stanard coaching jobs (Wikipedia)
Mentioned in this article: Coaching Hire Steve Stanard
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