Dave Steckel is an

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 player. He was recently the head coach at

Missouri State University Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second largest university by enr ...

. Prior to that, he spent 14 seasons on the staff at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

. His other coaching stops include Miami University of Ohio,

Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State, State or BSU) is a public university, public research university in Muncie, Indiana. It has two satellite facilities in Fishers, Indiana, Fishers and Indianapolis. On July 25, 1917, the Ball brothers, indust ...

, the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

Dickinson College , mottoeng = Freedom is made safe through character and learning , established = , type = Private liberal arts college , endowment = $645.5 million (2022) , president = J ...

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epis ...

, the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of T ...

, and

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

Coaching career

Steckel's coaching career started shortly after his playing career ended at Kutztown in 1982. He got his start as a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research respons ...

at Miami (OH). In 1984, he joined the Ball State staff as the

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

coach. Steckel spent the 1985 season as a

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. From 1986 to 1987, Steckel was the associate head coach and

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...

Dickinson College , mottoeng = Freedom is made safe through character and learning , established = , type = Private liberal arts college , endowment = $645.5 million (2022) , president = J ...

. From Dickinson, Steckel moved on to Lehigh, where he served as the

special teams coordinator In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

s coach from 1988 to 1991. In 1992, Steckel joined

Gary Pinkel Gary Robin Pinkel (born April 27, 1952) is a former American college football coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Toledo from 1991 to 2000 and the University of Missouri from 2001 to 2015, compiling career record o ...

’s staff at Toledo coaching the

. He held that position through the 1995 season. Steckel then joined the coaching staff at

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was a ...

for five seasons. He coached the

from 1996 to 1998 and the

s in 1999 and 2000. In 2001, Steckel reunited with

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, joining the Tigers as the

s coach. Steckel would spend the next 14 years tutoring the Tigers

s, was promoted to

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

prior to the 2009 season, and was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2011 season. On December 14, 2014, Steckel was named the 20th head football coach at

Missouri State Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second largest university by enr ...

. On January 10, 2020, Steckel was bought out of his contract with Missouri State. Steckle was officially hired by the St. Louis BattleHawks on September 13, 2022. He left the Team on March 2, 2023.

Playing career

Steckel played four seasons as an offensive lineman at

Kutztown University Kutztown University of Pennsylvania (Kutztown University or KU) is a public university in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher ...

Personal life

A native of

Fullerton, Pennsylvania Fullerton is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Whitehall Township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The population of Fullerton was 16,588 as of the 2020 census. Fullerton is a suburb of Allentown in the Lehigh Valley m ...

, Steckel enlisted in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

following his high school graduation, and served from 1975 to 1978. He is the younger brother of former NFL coach,

Les Steckel Les Steckel (born July 1, 1946) is an American football coach currently serving as the quarterbacks coach at Centre College. He was the third head coach of the Minnesota Vikings in 1984, and he has also worked as an assistant coach with the San ...

. Steckel and his wife, Mary Beth, have one daughter, Amanda.

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

Missouri State profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steckel, Dave Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American football offensive linemen Ball State Cardinals football coaches Dickinson Red Devils football coaches Lehigh Mountain Hawks football coaches Kutztown Golden Bears football players Miami RedHawks football coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers football coaches Missouri Tigers football coaches Missouri State Bears football coaches Rutgers Scarlet Knights football coaches Toledo Rockets football coaches United States Marines