Bill Bleil

Bill Bleil was born on February 23, 1959, in Remsen, Iowa, and grew up there on his father's farm.[1][2] He attended Remsen-Union High School, where he was an all-star at the tailback and defensive back positions. He played college football at Northwestern College from 1977 to 1980, earning two NAIA all-district honors while playing linebacker. He graduated in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in physical education.[3] He earned a master's degree from New Mexico Highlands University in 1982.[1]

From 1981 to 1982, Bleil served as a graduate assistant and part-time volunteer at New Mexico Highlands University. He was named a full-time assistant in 1983, serving as defensive coordinator.[4] For a single season in 1984, Bleil was the defensive coordinator of the Dana Vikings in Iowa.[5]

Bleil was named offensive line coach at Eastern New Mexico University in 1985,[5] serving three seasons in that position before being promoted to offensive coordinator in 1988.[6] He left the school following the 1989 season. Eastern New Mexico ranked top 25 in the NCAA Division II in four of his five seasons with the school.[3]

In 1990, Bleil was named offensive line coach at his alma mater of Northwestern College, where he served two seasons.[3]

Bleil was named offensive line coach of Division I Pacific University in 1992, serving in that position for one year before being promoted to offensive coordinator in 1993.[7]

In 1996, after Pacific discontinued their football program, Bleil was named offensive coordinator as well as offensive line coach at Western Carolina University.[8] He was promoted to head coach following the firing of Steve Hodgin, who had hired Bleil one year earlier.[1][2] In his head coaching debut, Western Carolina lost to Liberty in the season opener.[9] After a 3–8 record that year, Bleil rebounded in 1998 with a 6–5 mark, the first winning season for the school since 1994.[10]

Despite high expectations, Bleil's 1999 Western Carolina team finished with just three wins after being heavily injured.[11] The school compiled a 4–7 record in 2000.[12] He led them to a 7–4 record in 2001, being named conference coach of the year, but was fired by the school, leading to the outrage of many of the team's fans.[13]

After being fired by Western Carolina, Bleil accepted a position with the South Dakota Coyotes as offensive coordinator.[14] He was named tight ends coach at Northern Illinois University in 2003.[3] He left them after one season and was subsequently hired by the University of Pittsburgh to coach the tight ends and offensive line.[15]

In 2005, Bleil was hired by Akron University as running backs coach. In his first year with the school, he helped running back Brett Biggs earn second-team all-conference honors with over 1,200 rushing yards.[7] His position was changed in 2007 to offensive tackles coach and tight ends coach.[7]

Bleil was named assistant head coach and offensive line coach at Iowa State University at the end of 2008.[16] After four seasons in that position, he gave up his offensive line duties for the tight ends while retaining his role as assistant head coach.[7] While coaching the offensive line, five of his players made it into the National Football League (NFL).[7]

Bleil left for Rhode Island in 2014 to be offensive coordinator and offensive line coach.[17] He held that role for two seasons before leaving for Missouri Southern in 2016. He spent two years with Missouri Southern before accepting a position at Lamar to coach the offensive line in 2018.[18] He was promoted to co-offensive coordinator in 2019 while retaining his role of offensive line coach.[18]

From 2020 to 2021, Bleil was an assistant coach at the University of Mary Hardin–Baylor.[19] In January 2022, he was named offensive line coach at Stephen F. Austin University.[20]

Bleil is married to Laurel Tjernagel of Roland, Iowa. They have two children.[3]

Bleil's brother Fred was also a coach for several college teams until his death in 2011. The two brothers faced off against each other in a 2006 game between Akron and North Texas.[21]

• Stephen F. Austin profile