Head Coach Joe Fincham bio
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Former standout defensive back Andy Waddle returned to his alma mater in 2005 to take over coaching the defensive backs. A year later, Waddle accepted the additional responsibilities of defensive coordinator.
In his first season on the Wittenberg sidelines, Waddle coached several players who earned first-team and a second-team All-NCAC honors. He was part of a defensive staff in 2005 that oversaw an improvement of more than nine points per game from the previous season. The Tigers recorded three shutouts on the season and allowed just 15 points in five wins in 2005.
Waddle played for two North Coast Athletic Conference championship teams in his three years at Wittenberg after transferring from the University of Findlay in 1999. At Findlay, Waddle was red-shirted during an NAIA national championship season in 1997 and was a starter for the Oilers the following year. In 2000, he tied an NCAA record for blocked punts in a game in his first appearance in the Red & White, turning away three Urbana attempts in the season opener.
Waddle earned first-team All-NCAC honors in football and track and field during his collegiate career, and fittingly he will also serve as an assistant coach with the Tiger track and field program.
After graduating from Wittenberg in 2003 with a degree in sociology, Waddle spent one season at Mansfield University (Pa.), as the defensive backs coach for former Tiger defensive coordinator Chris Woods. He acted as a staff liaison to the university's athletic trainers and also learned the recruiting ropes while helping the Mountaineers to an 8-3 record, the program's first winning mark in nearly 30 years.
In 2004, Waddle was the defensive backs coach at Maryville College (Tenn.), and once again the program and its defensive unit made a dramatic improvement. Maryville won as many games in 2004 as it had won the previous three seasons combined, and the defense made a 17-point, 140-yard per game improvement. Waddle also served as Maryville's video coordinator.
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Andy Mitchel joined the Wittenberg football coaching staff in 2006. In addition to his offensive coordinator duties, Mitchel will guide the team's quarterbacks.
Mitchel was offensive coordinator and position coach for quarterbacks and wide receivers at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, for three years prior to his arrival at Wittenberg. He had a wide range of duties at Simpson, including coordinating and scheduling of junior varsity games, coordinating campus visits as the program's liaison to the admission office and organizing and implementing a digital editing system for all game films.
On the field, Mitchel implemented a pro-spread offensive system to great effect. Simpson made the 2003 NCAA Division III Tournament, finishing the campaign with a 9-2 record thanks in large part to an offense that led the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with 424 yards per game. The catalyst was quarterback Mike Donnenwerth, the league MVP, who threw for 322 yards per game, a total that ranked seventh in all of NCAA Division III. In all, Mitchel coached two All-Americans, including 2005 Gagliardi Award finalist Dusty Kain, a wide receiver, and 10 all-conference performers.
Mitchel got his professional start at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, where he served as wide receiver coach in 2000 and 2001 and passing game coordinator/quarterbacks and wide receivers coach in 2002. Wisconsin-Platteville ranked No. 1 nationally in passing in 2001 and led the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in total offense and passing offense in 2001 and 2002. Mitchel coached one All-American and five All-WIAC performers in his three seasons there.
Mitchel also enjoyed tremendous success as a player at the NCAA Division III level, garnering three all-conference awards as a wide receiver at Hanover College. During his career at Hanover from 1996-99, Mitchel played on teams that won two conference championships, advanced to two NCAA Division III Tournaments and compiled a sparkling 35-7 overall record.
Mitchel holds a bachelor of science in physical education and health education from Wisconsin-Platteville, earned in 2003.
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Staff newcomer Jordan Gigli has taken over the defensive line coaching duties in 2006. A native of Fort Wayne, Ind., Gigli spent the last two years on the coaching staff at Western Illinois, serving as assistant defensive line coach in 2004 and assistant offensive line coach in 2005.
Gigli was a four-year letterwinner from 1999-2002 and a three-year starting defensive tackle at Tri-State University in Angola, Ind. A two-time all-conference selection, Gigli accumulated more than 160 total tackles and 10 sacks in his career. As a team captain, Gigli led the program to its first conference championship and second-ever playoff berth in 2001.
He got his coaching start at his alma mater in 2003-04. After graduating from Tri-State in 2003 with a bachelor of science in business administration, Gigli coached the defensive line and served as recruiting coordinator. In 2006, Gigli earned a master of science in kinesiology/sport management from Western Illinois.
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Former all-conference Wittenberg linebacker Ryan Gresham has returned as a coach at his alma mater.
Gresham has worked as a teacher in charter schools in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio, the last three years. In addition, he coached football at Columbus City League powerhouse Brookhaven High School in 2005, concentrating on tight ends and linebackers. The Bearcats won the 2005 City League title and advanced to the Division I state playoffs before losing to Grove City in the first round. Gresham coached several players who earned postseason awards, including University of Illinois-bound tight end Jeff Cumberland.
As a player at Wittenberg, Gresham worked his way into the starting lineup during his junior and senior seasons after appearing in 12 games and earning a pair of varsity letters in 1999 and 2000. As a starter in 2001 and 2002, Gresham ranked among the team leaders in tackles while starting every game at linebacker, earning second-team all-conference honors as a senior. As a team, the Tigers posted sparkling records of 26-1 in the NCAC, 38-2 in the regular season and 44-6 overall during Gresham's Wittenberg career.
Gresham graduated from Wittenberg in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in political science. He was active in a variety of extracurricular activities, including the student finance committee and Concerned Black Students.
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J.R. Dorman joined the Wittenberg football coaching staff in 2006 and will direct the wide receivers in his second season in the Red & White.
The grandson of Robert Dorman, a Wittenberg football letterwinner in 1938 and 1939, J.R. Dorman spent the 2005 season with the Denison coaching staff, working primarily with the linebackers. The Big Red finished 5-5 overall, including a perfect 5-0 at home for the first time in more than 20 years.
A graduate of the University of South Carolina, Dorman got his professional start with the National Football League's Houston Texans in 2004, serving as an intern on the staff of Ohio-native Dom Capers. With the Texans, Dorman worked primarily in the scouting department, in addition to some duties with the defense. Prior to his stint with the Texans he spent five years under legendary Head Coach Lou Holtz at South Carolina as a student assistant, gaining experience in a wide range of areas, including defensive backs, special teams and recruiting. Dorman majored in sports administration at South Carolina.
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After coaching Wittenberg's receiving corps from 1996-2005, Mark Ewald took over running backs coaching duties. He has become a key contributor to one of the top offensive units every year in Division III.
Almost every Wittenberg receiving record was broken under Ewald. Among his proteges have been all-conference standouts Michael Aljancic, Skip Ivery, Russ Fedyk and Jered Glover. The Tigers' passing game regularly ranked among the best in the NCAC and all of NCAA Division III during his tenure there and last year's running game was no different.
Ewald is in his 26th year as a football coach. Before joining the Wittenberg staff, he was an assistant coach at nearby Trotwood-Madison High School after three years as head coach at Carroll High School in Dayton. He also coached at Chaminade-Julienne High School for several years. Ewald resides in Kettering, Ohio with his wife, Diane, and three children, Nicholas, Jacklyn, and Luke David.
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Rob Linkhart joined the Tiger football coaching staff in 2001. After coaching the defensive backs for two years, Linkhart moved to running backs in 2003. In 2006, Linkhart moved back to the defensive side of the ball, concentrating on the cornerback position.
As the running backs coach in 2003, Linkhart helped develop Raymar Hampshire into one of the top players in the NCAC after two seasons as a fullback. Then in 2004 and 2005, Linkhart guided Tristan Murray to a pair of 1,000-yard rushing seasons.
A 1999 Wittenberg graduate with a degree in biology, Linkhart was a three-year letterwinner at defensive back and played on three NCAC championship teams. A native of Springfield, Linkhart resides in his hometown, and he works as a teacher at Northeastern High School.
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Tom Mescher joined the Wittenberg coaching staff in 2005, concentrating his efforts on the tight end position and offensive tackle positions in 2005 and 2006.
A native of Versailles, Ohio, where he played football under legendary high school coach Al Hetrick, Mescher earned his bachelor's degree in elementary education with an emphasis in social studies from Findlay University in 1997. He also had a minor in history. While a student at Findlay, Mescher was a member of the varsity basketball team, president of Sigma Pi Fraternity and also served as a student assistant coach for the men's basketball and softball teams.
Currently a teacher in the Southeastern Local School District in nearby South Charleston, Mescher has coached softball, basketball and football at the high school and middle school levels for nine years. Most recently, he was the offensive coordinator for Miami View Junior High School in South Charleston. For the three years prior to that, Mescher was the defensive coordinator/assistant head coach for the Southeastern High School varsity team.
Mescher resides in Springfield with his wife, Kelly, and daughters Elise and Isis.
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