Brett Dietz (born October 8, 1981) is American football coach and former quarterback. He is the head football coach at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, a position he has held since 2020. Dietz played college football at Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana and professionally with several teams including the Turku Trojans in Finland Vaahteraliiga and in Arena Football League (AFL), Af2, and the National Indoor Football League (NIFL) for the Cincinnati Marshals, Louisville Fire, Tampa Bay Storm and California Redwoods.

Brett Dietz
refer to caption
Brett Dietz under center
DePauw Tigers
Position:Head coach
Personal information
Born: (1981-10-08) October 8, 1981 (age 42)
Villa Hills, Kentucky, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school:Covington Catholic
(Park Hills, Kentucky)
College:Hanover
Undrafted:2003
Career history
As a player:
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
As a coach:
  • Cascade HS (IN) (2006)
    Quarterbacks coach
  • Marian (IN) (2007)
    Defensive backs coach
  • DePauw (2010)
    Wide receivers coach
  • DePauw (2011–2013)
    Quarterbacks & wide receivers coach
  • DePauw (2014–2019)
    Offensive coordinator
  • DePauw (2020–present)
    Head coach
Career highlights and awards
Career Arena statistics
Passing yards:11,994
TDs–INTs:240–35
Passer rating:119.96
Rushing yards:57
Rushing TDs:6
Player stats at ArenaFan.com

Early life edit

Dietz played high school football at Covington Catholic High School in Park Hills, Kentucky. He was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2020.[1] He then attended Hanover College becoming the starter his junior and senior seasons. In 2002, he led the team to an undefeated regular season before falling to Wittenburg in the first round of the playoffs. He threw for 2,296 yards on 182 completions on 309 attempts with 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, also added two rushing touchdowns. He was tabbed first-team all-Heartland Conference.[2] His senior season, Dietz again led the Panthers to a playoff berth after leading the team to a 8–3 record and another conference title. In the first round playoff loss to Baldwin-Wallace, Dietz set a Division III playoff record for completions and attempts after going 46–78 for 520 yards and 4 TDs and 4 INTs. He was once again a first team all-Heartland Conference selection and set school records for completions and attempts going 314–497 for 3,511 yards with 35 TDs and 12 INTs.[3][4]

Dietz also played basketball, baseball, and golf at Hanover.[5]

Professional playing career edit

Dietz is the only player in AFL and af2 history to win "rookie of the year" in back-to-back seasons (2006 with Louisville Fire (af2), 2007 with Tampa Bay Storm (AFL)).

Turku Trojans edit

Dietz began his career in 2004 playing for the Turku Trojans in Finland Vaahteraliiga. He led the Trojans to the top-ranked pass offense, while guiding the team to the Maple Bowl championship game before losing to the Helsinki Roosters.

Cincinnati Marshals edit

In 2005, Dietz played with the Cincinnati Marshals of the National Indoor Football League (NIFL).

Louisville Fire edit

Dietz attended training camp with the Tampa Bay Storm and was assigned to the practice squad on January 27. After spending six weeks on practice squad, he was released on March 9 to join the af2's Louisville Fire. He spent the remainder of 2006 with Fire as starting quarterback and was named af2 Spalding Rookie of the Year and first-team American Conference All-af2. Set af2 single-game high with 12 touchdown passes 6/17/06 at Albany, where he completed 23 of 31 passes for 314 yards. He led af2 in completion percentage (71.2%) and pass efficiency (126.7).

Tampa Bay Storm edit

Dietz became starting quarterback in 2007 after both John Kaleo and Stoney Case were injured . He propelled them to an 8–1 record and led them to the playoffs after a 1–6 start, although they lost 56–55 in his first playoff game. However, for his efforts during the season, Dietz was named co-rookie of the year in the league. After the Arena Football League returned for the 2010 season, Dietz returned with the Storm. He led them to a 13–6 record, but the team was defeated in ArenaBowl XXIII by the Spokane Shock.

California Redwoods edit

Dietz was drafted by the California Redwoods of the United Football League in the UFL Premiere Season Draft in 2009. He signed with the team on August 18.[6] He was released on September 23.

Statistics edit

AFL statistics
Year Team Completions Pass Attempts Passing Yards Passing TDs Passing INTs Rushing Yards Rushing TDs
2007 Tampa Bay Storm
196
300
2,374
47
7
9
2
Career (AFL)
196
300
2,374
47
7
9
2

Coaching career edit

Dietz was the quarterbacks coach for Cascade High School in Clayton, Indiana for the 2006 season.

Dietz was announced as the head coach of DePauw on January 2, 2020. Dietz has coached at the school since 2010 as a position coach and was the offensive coordinator the previous six seasons.[7] He coached his team to 2–0 record in his first season during the COVID-19 shortened season.

Head coaching record edit

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
DePauw Tigers (North Coast Athletic Conference) (2020–present)
2020–21 DePauw 2–0 0–0 N/A
2021 DePauw 9–3 8–1 1st L NCAA Division III Second Round
2022 DePauw 9–2 7–1 1st L NCAA Division III First Round
2023 DePauw 10–1 8–0 1st L NCAA Division III First Round
2024 DePauw 0–0 0–0
DePauw: 30–6 23–2
Total: 30–6
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

References edit

  1. ^ "Covington Catholic High School - Hall of Fame". www.covcath.org. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  2. ^ "Jourdan and Pelley lead football award winners". Archived from the original on December 13, 2002.
  3. ^ "Dietz and Hudgins lead football award winners". Archived from the original on December 12, 2003.
  4. ^ "Georgetown falls in NAIA playoffs". The Courier-Journal. 2003-11-23. pp. C11. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  5. ^ "Afl_101_sponsor". ArenaFootball.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2009.
  6. ^ "United Football League Signs 31 Players to California Redwoods' Roster". August 20, 2009. Archived from the original on August 21, 2009.
  7. ^ "DePauw names Dietz to lead football program". January 2, 2020.

External links edit