NAU head football coach Jerome Souers speaks to his players. Jesse Kasten / The Lumberjack

Over the past 12 years, the Northern Arizona football team has seen many winning campaigns, disappointing losses and talented players come and go. But the one thing that has stayed constant over that time has been the team’s head coach, Jerome Souers.

Souers began his career in Oregon coaching high school football at North Eugene High School, his alma mater, and Willamette High School. His father was also involved in high school football, coaching prep schools in the area for many years.

“My father was probably the biggest influence on me,” Souers said. “He taught me everything as a kid and encouraged me to pursue my dreams to become a football coach.”

After eight years coaching at the high school level, Souers took the next step to the collegiate ranks. He was the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Western Washington for one season and then moved to Portland State for another one-year stint, this time as the Vikings running backs coach.

Don Read, then Portland State’s head coach, progressed to Montana and took Souers along with him. Souers coached the Montana secondary for two years until 1988, the year in which the Grizzlies led the Big Sky Conference in every single defensive category.

“Coach Read helped me immensely in terms of learning how to coach and manage a large program,” Souers said. “I would definitely not be where I am today without Coach Read’s impact on my career.”

In 1989, Souers was promoted to defensive coordinator, and the Griz recorded an 11-2 season and made an appearance in the Div. I-AA national semifinals.

Over the course of his nine-year tenure as defensive coordinator at Montana, Souers had assembled one of the most feared defensive units in the country and held a national title (1995), three conference championships and a 48-8 record to prove it.

“Jerome’s accomplishments speak volumes as to what kind of coach he really is,” said Bill Smith, NAU’s defensive line coach, who has coached with Souers since 1985. “His knowledge of the game isn’t confined to just defense, but his familiarity with the game overall is what makes him a great coach.”

In 1998, Souers took the head coaching job at NAU and became the first Lumberjack head coach since 1979 to begin his career with a winning record.

Since then, Souers has transformed NAU football from a mid-league finisher to a perennial conference title contender.

“Jerome creates a harmonious and cohesive atmosphere for his players,” Smith said. “He always preaches togetherness, and his squads always work collectively as a team.”

In addition to teaching unification among the team, Souers also makes it a point to be involved in practices and consistently accentuate the importance of schoolwork. During his tenure at NAU, Souers has coached five Academic All-Americans and 50 All-Big Sky Academic award-winners.

“Coach is constantly working with us hands on and becomes more involved with us each and every year,” said senior linebacker Zac McNally. “He coaches and recruits intelligent players and is always emphasizing to us that we are not just football players, but student athletes.”

Souers is entering his 12th year as the Lumberjack head coach and has his team fired up to make their presence known as the always tough Big Sky Conference.

“It would be awesome to be able to dump Gatorade on Coach this year, especially for all of us seniors,” McNally said. “It would be fun, but also it would kind of be paying him back for all he’s done for us as players and as students.”