Brett Dietz (born October 8, 1981) is
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
coach and former
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
. He is the head football coach at
DePauw University
DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the G ...
in
Greencastle, Indiana
Greencastle is a city in Greencastle Township, Putnam County, Indiana, United States, and the county seat of Putnam County. It was founded in 1821 by Ephraim Dukes on a land grant. He named the settlement for his hometown of Greencastle, Pennsylv ...
, a position he has held since 2020. Dietz played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at
Hanover College
Hanover College is a private college in Hanover, Indiana, affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Founded in 1827 by Reverend John Finley Crowe, it is Indiana's oldest private college. The Hanover athletic teams participate in the H ...
in
Hanover, Indiana
Hanover is a town in Hanover Township, Jefferson County, southeast Indiana, along the Ohio River. The population was 3,546 at the 2010 census. Hanover is the home of Hanover College, a small Presbyterian liberal arts college. The "Point," locate ...
and professionally with several teams in the
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
(AFL),
Af2
The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...
, and the
National Indoor Football League
The National Indoor Football League (NIFL) was a professional indoor football league in the United States. For their first six years, the league had teams in markets not covered by either the Arena Football League or its developmental league, A ...
(NIFL) including the
Cincinnati Marshals,
Louisville Fire
The Louisville Fire was an arena football team that played its home games at the Brown-Forman Field in Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. They were a 2001 expansion team of the af2. Their owner/operator was former Pro Bowl lineman and Louisv ...
,
Tampa Bay Storm
The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The f ...
and
California Redwoods
''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coastal ...
.
Early life
Dietz played high school football at
Covington Catholic High School
Covington Catholic High School (abbreviated CCH or CovCath) is a private, Roman Catholic, high school for boys in Park Hills, Kentucky, United States. It was founded in 1925 by Bishop Francis William Howard and Brother George Sauer, and is part ...
in
Park Hills, Kentucky
Park Hills is a home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 3,162 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. Much of the city was listed on the National Register of Historic P ...
. He was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2020. He then attended Hanover College becoming the starter his junior and senior seasons. In
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
, 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
The Heartland Conference was a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division II level, which was founded in 1999. The majority of members were in Texas, with additional members in A ...
. His senior season, Dietz again led the Panthers to a playoff birth 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.
Dietz also played basketball, baseball, and golf at Hanover.
Professional playing career
Dietz is the only player in AFL and
af2
The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...
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
Dietz began his career in 2004 playing for the
Turku Trojans
Turku Trojans is one of the oldest American football teams in Finland, established in 1982. Turku Trojans have played in the Maple League Vaahteraliiga (highest level) in Finland operated by American Football Association of Finland. Finnish cham ...
in Finland
Vaahteraliiga
The Vaahteraliiga (Maple League) founded in 1980 is the highest level of American football in Finland played under American Football Association of Finland. The winner of the Vaahteraliiga is the Finnish champion. The Vaahteraliiga season is play ...
.
He led the Trojans to top-ranked pass offense, while guiding the team to the
Maple Bowl championship game losing to the
Helsinki Roosters
Helsinki Roosters is an American football team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team plays in the Vaahteraliiga in Finland and their home field is the Helsinki Velodrome.
History
Roosters were founded in 1979 and the club is a founding member of ...
.
Cincinnati Marshals
In 2005, Dietz played with the
Cincinnati Marshals of the
National Indoor Football League
The National Indoor Football League (NIFL) was a professional indoor football league in the United States. For their first six years, the league had teams in markets not covered by either the Arena Football League or its developmental league, A ...
(NIFL).
Louisville Fire
Dietz attended training camp with the
Tampa Bay Storm
The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The f ...
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
The Louisville Fire was an arena football team that played its home games at the Brown-Forman Field in Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. They were a 2001 expansion team of the af2. Their owner/operator was former Pro Bowl lineman and Louisv ...
. 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
Dietz became
starting quarterback in 2007 after both
John Kaleo
John Kaleo (born February 5, 1971) is a retired American football quarterback in the Arena Football League (AFL) for the Albany Firebirds (1993), Cleveland Thunderbolts (1994), St. Louis Stampede (1995–1996), Anaheim Piranhas (1997), San Jose ...
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
A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year).
In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...
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
NAPA Auto Parts ArenaBowl XXIII was an arena football game between the National Conference champion, Spokane Shock and the American Conference champion, Tampa Bay Storm. The Spokane Shock won the game successfully defending ArenaCup X of the form ...
by the
Spokane Shock
The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won divisio ...
.
California Redwoods
Dietz was drafted by the
California Redwoods
''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coastal ...
of the
United Football League in the
UFL Premiere Season Draft The UFL "Premiere" Season Draft was the inaugural draft of the United Football League (UFL). The results of the draft were announced via press release on June 19, 2009.
Among the players selected were those that participated in earlier workouts in ...
in 2009. He signed with the team on August 18. He was released on September 23.
Statistics
Coaching career
Dietz was the quarterbacks coach for
Cascade High School Cascade is a name for several high schools in North America, including:
* Cascade High School (Idaho), Cascade, Idaho
*Cascade High School (Clayton, Indiana)
* Cascade High School (Iowa), Cascade, Iowa
* Cascade High School (Montana), Cascade, Mo ...
in
Clayton, Indiana
Clayton is a small town in Liberty Township, Hendricks County, Indiana, United States. The population was 972 at the 2010 census, up from 693 at the 2000 census.
History
In 1829 a little town in Liberty Township was named "Clayville", honoring ...
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.
He coached his team to 2-0 record in his first season during the COVID-19 shortened season.
Head coaching record
References
External links
DePauw profileArena Football bio*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dietz, Brett
1981 births
Living people
American football quarterbacks
Chicago Rush players
DePauw Tigers football coaches
Hanover Panthers football players
Kansas City Brigade players
Louisville Fire players
Marian Knights football coaches
Sacramento Mountain Lions players
Spokane Shock players
Tampa Bay Storm players
High school football coaches in Indiana
Covington Catholic High School alumni
Sportspeople from Covington, Kentucky
Coaches of American football from Kentucky
Players of American football from Kentucky
American expatriate sportspeople in Finland
American expatriate players of American football