LEBANON, Ill. – McKendree football head coach Jason Rejfek has finalized his staff leading into the 2025 season. The staff will be comprised of six new faces and three familiar ones. Heading into his second season as the Bearcats head coach, Rejfek will lean on his offensive and defensive coordinators in Nick Miller, Nick Holeton and Opetaia Tuiava.
Coach Miller will be entering his sixth season with the purple and gold, this time as the Assistant Head Coach/Co-Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks coach. Last season, Miller's offense earned rankings in the top 5 in McKendree football history for best season of plays, passing completions, and number of first downs. The offense featured a record-breaking wide receiver and a quarterback that sits in the top 10 for season numbers.
Also returning for his fourth season is Nick Holeton who is the Co-Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach. Coach Holeton mentored two Honorable Mention All-GLVC offensive linemen last season in Billy Doyle IV and Nicholas Cicero. The offensive line helped to produce over 2,000 team rushing yards and 2,600 passing yards.
Back for his second season in his second stint with McKendree, Defensive Coordinator and Defensive Line Coach Opetaia Tuiava mentored eight Bearcats to all-conference honors last year. He was last with the Bearcats from August 2021 to April 2023. Last season, the defensive unit registered 21 sacks and held opponents to a third down conversion rate of 35%.
The six newcomers on the staff are split evenly between both sides of the ball. Coaching the running backs is D'Andre Hicks. Coach Hicks spent last year at Division I Wofford University in the Southern Conference. While on the Terriers staff, he was responsible for the offensive quality control. Prior to Wofford, Hicks was the cornerbacks coach in the spring of 2024 at Albright College.
The Bearcats new tight ends coach is Jake Crogan. He comes to Lebanon after a playing career at Division III University of Wisconsin La Crosse. The Watertown, Wisconsin native has coaching in his blood as his father and brother are football coaches in their home state.
McKendree will see a new leader in the wide receiver's room as Sean Coyne joins the staff in Lebanon. Coach Coyne comes to McKendree from the University of New Hampshire where he caught 88 passes for 892 yards and 11 touchdowns.
On the defensive side of the ball, Jackson Hall will be overseeing the linebackers. He comes to McKendree after a two-year stint at Division II Chadron State. Before Chadron State, Coach Hall spent 18 months at GLVC-foe William Jewell College where he led the running backs and handled the teams video.
Now in charge of the defensive backs is Jerrell Taylor. Coach Taylor joined the staff back in the winter of 2024. Prior to coming to Lebanon, he was a graduate assistant at Ottawa (Kan.) University. While at the NAIA program, he held multiple responsibilities. Among those were being the DBs coach, the special teams assistant coach, video and academics coordinator.
The new corners coach for the Bearcats is no stranger to the program as he just capped off his career on the field for McKendree. Andrew Sherry will be making the transition from on the field to on the sidelines as he joined the coaching staff in the summer of 2025. The New Lenox, Illinois native sits in the top 10 for career tackles. Playing in all 11 games during his final season on the field, Sherry was named to the GLVC All-First Team. He led the league in interceptions with five and was fourth with 78 tackles.
The Bearcats will open their 2025 campaign at Indiana State on Thursday, August 28th with kickoff scheduled for 5:00 p.m. central time.
