Coaching Staff
Tyler Staker
Head Coach
After 10 seasons as an assistant coach, Tyler Staker was named the Head Coach of the Kohawk football program in November of 2015. Staker replaced his father, who moved into semi-retirement following the 2015 campaign.
In his first year at the helm, the Kohawks finished 11-1 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs. Coe won the Iowa Conference Championship for the fifth time in school history, while completing the third 10-0 regular season in school history.
Staker is a 2006 graduate of Coe College with a degree in business. He was a four-year Letterman and a two-time captain for the Kohawks, where he garnered all-conference honors his junior and senior year and was an all-west region defensive back as a senior.
A native of Fredericksburg, Iowa, Staker led the Falcons to a state high school football title in 2001 and was selected captain of the all-state team. As a senior at Coe, Staker represented the Kohawks and the Iowa Conference in the 2005 Aztec Bowl, pitting the top NCAA Division III players in the nation, in a 53-15 win over the top collegiate football players in Mexico.
After graduation Staker spent two seasons as a graduate assistant, where he coached the offensive line and wide receivers before he took over as offensive coordinator in 2008. In Staker's third year as offensive coordinator, his 2010 offense led the IIAC in scoring offense (38 p.p.g.), total offense (469 y.p.g.), passing offense (282 y.p.g.), pass efficiency, first downs, third down conversions and red zone offense.
For the second year in a row, Staker's offense led the league in total yards and produced the Iowa Conference MVP in quarterback Brad Boyle.
Staker is married to Kristy Staker, a 2008 graduate of Coe College. Tyler and Kristy have a daughter, Avery, and son, Cade.
Nick Schroder
Defensive Coordinator
Nick Schroder was named the Coe College Defensive Coordinator prior to the 2017 season. Schroder came to Coe after spending four seasons at St. Ambrose, where he served in various roles. During the 2016 season, Schroder was the Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers Coach for the Bees. He served on the AFCA-NAIA Assistant Coaches Committee during his final year at St. Ambrose.
Schroder also spent time working with special teams, offensive line and tight ends during his time at St. Ambrose. During the 2016 season, Schroder coached seven all-conference players on the defensive side of the ball, including three linebackers and the leading tackler in the Mid-States Football Association. As the Special Teams Coordinator at St. Ambrose in 2015, he worked with Fred Mitchell Award Winner Matt Cotiguala, an award given to the top place-kicker in FCS, NCAA Division II, Division III, NAIA and NJCAA.
In addition to his college coaching experience, Schroder also spent nine years coaching high school football in Illinois. Schroder was the Head Coach at Riverdale High School in Port Byron, Ill. in 2011-12, while also serving as an assistant at Warrensburg-Latham, Normal and Moline High Schools.
Brody Rohach
Offensive Coordinator/Recruiting Coordinator
Steve Staker
Defensive Line
Steve Staker spent nine years as the Kohawk head coach before retiring after the 2015 campaign. Staker's son, Tyler, was named head coach. Staker remains on staff in a part time role.
Staker was named head coach of the Kohawks in March of 2008. Staker, the father of five Coe alumni, served Coe as defensive coordinator, linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator for four years before being named the head coach. Prior to arriving at Coe, Staker spent 35 years as head football coach at Fredericksburg (Iowa) High School.
In 2012, Staker led the Kohawks to their first outright Iowa Conference Championship in school history, completing a perfect 10-0 regular season. Staker was named the Iowa Conference Coach of the Year, while also being named one of five finalists for the Liberty Mutual NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year. Staker took the Kohawks to the second round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs in 2009, as he was named the Iowa Conference Coach of the Year and the American Football Coaches Association Region Five Coach of the Year.
During his six years as head coach, Coe has had six D3football.com All-Americans. Coe has placed 64 players on the All-Iowa Conference teams, including 31 first-team selections. Staker has also coached three Iowa Conference MVPs.
While at Fredericksburg, Staker also served as head baseball coach for 31 years, head boys' track coach for 28 years and assistant boys' basketball coach for 36 years. He served as the high school and middle school athletics director at Fredericksburg for 31 years. His football team won a state championship in 2001, while his track and field team won the state title in 1992. During a 15-year span, his team won six district titles. He was named to the Iowa Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1994 and was the Class A Coach of the Year in 2001. In 2003, he was the head coach for the Iowa Shrine Bowl.
Staker's son, Tyler, is the offensive coordinator for Coe after serving as a graduate assistant after four years playing for the Kohawks. Tyler is the last of five Staker children to attend the college. Steve's daughter, Shannon Cook, is a former admissions counselor at Coe, while his daughter-in-law, Julie Staker, is the Dean of Admissions at Coe. His son-in-law, Steve Cook, is the school's head baseball coach.
Joe Peters
Defensive Line
Peters, a 1983 Coe graduate, re-joined the coaching staff in the fall of 2014 after coaching from 1984-87. Prior to returning to Coe, Peters had numerous stops as a head coach at the high school level including Winfield-Mount Union (1989-92), Waukon (1993-2000), Grade Baptist School (2000-01). Most recently he served as an assistant coach for Mount Vernon from 2001 to 2013.
Peters received his Associates Degree from Waldorf College in 1981 before earning degrees in Sociology, Physical Education and Health from Coe. Peters also earned Masters in Physical Education from Northern Iowa in 1999. He currently serves a high school physical education teacher in Mount Vernon.
Sam Newmaster
Trevor Heitland
Andrew Johnson
Matt Walter