McKendree University Athletics

Eric Bergman joined the McKendree football coaching staff as a graduate assistant coach in the spring of 2013. In the summer of 2018, Bergman was named as the Bearcats' offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. 

Prior to the 2014 campaign, Bergman was elevated to a full-time coaching position for the Bearcats and tutored the running backs while serving as the recruiting coordinator. Bergman took on a different role in 2017 by coaching the McKendree quarterbacks. 

The 2018 season was memorable for the McKendree offense on many fronts. Under Bergman's guidance the Bearcats scored a program-record 393 points, leading the Great Lakes Valley Conference in scoring an nearly 36 points per outing. McKendree set another mark by scoring 202 points over its first five games of the campaign, topping the 34-point point mark in each of those contests. The Bearcats racked up just under 445 yards of total offense per game, a figure that also led the league. 

Bergman was able to rely on the senior tandem of quarterback Reece Metcalf and running back Preston Thompson to provide plenty of the offensive spark in 2018. Metcalf tossed a school-record 27 touchdown passes with just four interceptions in 284 attempts. Metcalf completed nearly two-thirds of his passes while throwing for 2,622 yards in picking up second-team All-GLVC honors. Thompson rushed for 1,073 yards (the second-highest season total in McKendree history) with nine touchdowns as he bulled his way to first-team All-GLVC accolades. 

In 2017, Metcalf was able to flourish in his first full season as the Bearcats' starting quarterback. Thanks in part to Bergman's tutelage, Metcalf finished the season with 1,902 passing yards, which is the fourth-highest season total by a McKendree quarterback. Metcalf also threw for 13 touchdowns with just four interceptions and garnered honorable mention All-GLVC honors following the season. 

McKendree finished second in the GLVC in rushing under Bergman's guidance in 2016. Much of the Bearcats' success on the ground was due to the breakout season enjoyed by Shayeen Edwards, who rushed for a career-high 771 yards while adding four touchdowns. Edwards also established a new program record with 212 rushing attempts in 2016. 

For his efforts, Edwards earned first-team All-GLVC honors in 2016. Edwards became the first McKendree running back to receive first-team All-Conference accolades since the Bearcats joined the GLVC in 2012. It was also the first time a Bearcats' running back collected first-team All-Conference honors since 2010. 

Bergman's running back corps led the GLVC in rushing in 2015. The Bearcats were the only team in the league to average more than 200 yards per game a year ago, posting 200.1 yards per outing. McKendree averaged a league-high 5.2 yards on every carry and tied for the second in the GLVC with 24 rushing touchdowns. Isaac Fisher bested his school record for rushing yards by a quarterback in a season, gaining 808 yards on the ground which was good enough for third among all conference rushers. 

In addition to Fisher's rushing numbers from 2015, Bergman aided in the development of sophomore running back Shayeen Edwards, who rushed for a career-best 463 yards while tying senior Treye Williams for second on the squad with five touchdowns. 

In his first season as the running backs coach at McKendree in 2014, Bergman saw the development of Fisher as a dual threat. In addition to throwing for a school-record 2,722 yards in 2014, Fisher became the first quarterback to lead McKendree in rushing for a season. Fisher gained 764 yards on the ground and scored nine times on top of his 19 touchdown tosses. Bergman was also instrumental in the tutelage of the Bearcats' young running backs unit, which included the emergence of sophomore Kevin Witcik and sophomores Shayeen Edwards and Myles Hammonds. 

Ryan Herring also put the exclamation on his stellar four-year career in the McKendree backfield in 2014. Herring was second on the squad with 417 rushing yards and closed his playing days with 1,437 yards on the ground. 

Bergman, a native of Elk Grove Village, Ill., played in 34 games with 11 starts on the offensive line at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Bergman started 10 games at right guard during his sophomore season in 2010, and added another start during his senior campaign in 2012. The Salukis averaged better than 30 points per game and more than 300 yards per contest during Bergman's sophomore year. He was also a part of consecutive Missouri Valley Conference championships in 2008 and 2009.

Bergman graduated from Southern Illinois in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in sports administration. Bergman and his wife Bianca -- who serves as the head cheerleading coach at McKendree -- reside in Breese with their infant daughter Adah.