DAYTON – New University of Dayton football coach Trevor Andrews has announced the makeup of his coaching staff.

"I am very excited to be able to put this staff together," Andrews said.  "I have either coached or worked (or both) with every one of them.  They are all quality people, who come to the job with the best interests of our student-athletes in mind.  

"They are great coaches and teachers of the game, and will be great mentors to the young men in our program.  They all have a tremendous passion for the game, and are passionate about recruiting great student-athletes to the University of Dayton."

The new coaches are:
•    John Bowes, Defensive Coordinator
•    Greg Whalen, Offensive Coordinator
•    Ted Hefter, Passing Game Coordinator / Quarterbacks Coach
•    Paul Amakihe, Defensive Line
•    Nate Atkins, Linebackers / Special Teams Coordinator

In addition, the following coaches are remaining on the staff:
•    Andy Aracri, Defensive Tackles
•    Keyshawn Colmon, Offensive GA
•    Sam Costantino, Wide Receivers
•    Mark Ewald, Running Backs
•    Ted Flaherty, Secondary
•    Scott Horcher, Cornerbacks


John Bowes, Defensive Coordinator
John Bowes comes to UD from New Hampshire, where he has been the safeties coach since 2018.  

A 2006 graduate of Catholic University (where he was a three-year starter in the secondary), Bowes got his coaching start at his alma mater immediately after his playing career ended.  He spent the 2007 season as a graduate assistant at Clarion University. 

In 2008, he moved to William & Mary, where he coached for five years.  He began his time at W&M as a defensive and special teams assistant, then moved to defensive backs.  He also coached linebackers before being named special teams coordinator and safeties coach.

He was part of three FCS playoff teams (2009, 2010, 2022) and two CAA championshi8p teams (2009, 2022) while at William & Mary.

Bowes spent three years (2013-16) at Bucknell as the special teams coordinator, while coaching linebackers and then the secondary.  In 2015, he coached the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year and Third-Team All-America safety Clayton Ewell.  Bowes spent one season at Fordham as the defensive coordinator and safeties coach.
 

Greg Whalen, Offensive Coordinator
Greg Whalen joins Flyer staff after coaching tight ends at Western Michigan in 2022.  Prior to that, Whalen was the offensive line coach at Marian University from 2019 to 2021.  Whalen helped guide an offense that ranked No. 10 in NAIA passing offense per game in 2020-21.  He led one of the top offensive lines in the NAIA in 2019, ranking second in the country in sacks allowed, just six for the entire season.  That line had an All-American and had four of five linemen earn All-Conference honors.

Marian played in the NAIA national championship game in 2019.  Twenty-two of his last 35 starting offensive linemen at Marian were named all-conference.

 A North Central College football alumnus, Whalen coached two seasons at North Central College (2017-18).  Prior to North Central, he was the offensive line coach for two seasons at Aurora University.  He also served as a defensive line and tight end grad assistant in 2014 at Aurora.

Whalen played four seasons at North Central, starting 34 games and was a team captain, helping advance North Central to the NCAA DIII Semifinals as a senior.

Ted Hefter, Quarterback Coach/Passing Game Coordinator
A five-year quarterback at William & Mary, Hefter joins the Dayton staff after spending the 2021 and 2022 campaigns as a graduate assistant at Western Michigan.  He joined the Broncos as a defensive GA in 2021, then transitioned to working with WMU's quarterbacks as a GA last year.

Western Michigan was the 2021 Quick Lane Bowl champion in 2021.

Hefter was William & Mary's team captain as a senior in the spring of 2021.  In a start against James Madison, the top-ranked team in FCS football at the time, he completed 13 of 20 passes for 128 yards with a touchdown and an interception.  

While at W&M, Hefter was the SAAC president, a winner of William & Mary's prestigious Cypher Award, which recognizes elite students as being stewards of the university's core values, and a three-time winner of W&M's Provost Award for academic excellence.  He was also a four-time member of  the CAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll 

Paul Amakihe, Defensive Line
Paul Amakihe comes to Dayton after coaching outside linebackers at Carnegie Mellon in 2022, helping the Tartans to an 11-1 record and a trip to the NCAA Division III playoffs 

Prior to Carnegie Mellon, Amakihe was the defensive run game coordinator and linebackers coach for one season at Wilkes University.  He also served as interim defensive coordinator in the spring of 2022.  Prior to Wilkes, he was at McDaniel College from 2018-21 where he coached the linebackers.  Amakihe also spent a year on staff at SUNY Cortland where he coached the tight ends.

Amakihe is a 2016 graduate of William & Mary, where he earned a bachelor's degree in kinesiology. While at William & Mary, he played two seasons for the Tribe as a linebacker and defensive end. He earned his master's degree from McDaniel in kinesiology in 2020, and also earned his CSCS accreditation while at SUNY Cortland.


Nate Atkins, Linebackers/Special Teams Coordinator
Nate Atkins joins Trevor Andrews' staff at Dayton after spending the last three years at Ball State. In 2021-22 he was a defensive assistant and project coordinator after joining the Cardinal program as a defensive graduate assistant in 2020.  Ball State won the MAC championship in 2020, and won the Arizona Bowl that season.

After completing his playing career at William & Mary in the fall of 2019, he was a volunteer graduate student assistant at W&M in the spring of 2020.  

Atkins registered 44 consecutive starts and more than 300 tackles as a linebacker at William & Mary.  He was a two-time team captain, and a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation's William V. Campbell Trophy (aka the "Academic Heisman") as a senior in 2019.