Ed Mestieri is in his 21st year of coaching at Colby and his sixth as head coach of the Mules heading into the 2009 season. Mestieri was named Division II/III Coach of the Year by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston after leading the Mules to a 7-1 record in the 2005 season. Mestieri helped the Mules finish second in the New England Football Division III rankings in 2005.

Mestieri had served as Colby offensive coordinator, offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator before becoming head coach after the retirement of former coach Tom Austin.

During Mestieri's association with the Colby program, the Mules have amassed a 89-78-1 record and have won or shared 14 CBB titles, with 12 of those won outright.

Among the Colby football coaches, Mestieri's recruiting areas include Maine and the following Massachusetts leagues (Bay State Herget, Bay State Carey, Big Three, Catholic Conference, Old Colony, Patriot League, South Coast and Merrimack Valley).

Mestieri came to Colby from Norwich University in Vermont, where he was offensive coordinator and line coach for the football team and coach of men's and women's outdoor track and field. Prior to Norwich, he was assistant backfield coach at Dartmouth College and assistant defensive line and linebacker coach at Kent State University in Ohio.

A native of Wareham, Mass., Mestieri is a graduate of Springfield College, where he played varsity football for four years. Mestieri earned a master's degree from Norwich and served as a graduate assistant for the Cadets in 1977.

 

Assistant Coaches

Tom Dexter - Defensive Coordinator, Defensive Secondary, Strength Coach

Tom Dexter enters his 21st season on Colby's football coaching staff. A 1987 graduate of SUNY-Cortland, Dexter played quarterback and defensive back while in college. In 1988 he earned his master's degree from Cortland while serving as a defensive line coach there. Dexter then went to Cornell University for one year, where he was the defensive secondary coach and defensive coordinator of the freshman football team. Dexter's recruiting areas include New York and the Greater Boston League. Dexter also serves as assistant baseball coach and director of the fitness center at Colby.

 

Jonathan Michaeles - Offensive Coordinator, Recruiting Coordinator, Quarterbacks, Strength Coach 

Jonathan Michaeles enters his sixth year with the Colby coaching staff after five years as offensive coordinator and associate head coach at St. Anselm College. A Sturbridge, Mass., native, Michaeles is a 1992 graduate of Bates College, where he was a four-year football player. He then was an assistant high school football coach in Sturbridge, Mass., for a year before moving on to Allegheny College, where he coached wide receivers for three years on a team that had a 29-1 regular season record during that time. Michaeles later had stints as a wide receiver/tight end coach at Penn and wide receiver coach and recruiting coordinator at Fordham. Coach Michaeles' recruiting areas include: New Hampshire, Vermont, all New England prep schools, central Massachusetts, western Massachusetts, Middlesex League, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

 

Eric Garcia Linebackers, Special Teams Coordinator  

Eric begins his fourth year with the Colby coaching staff after coming from Mississippi Valley State, where had served as an admissions counselor. Garcia has a bachelor's degree in physical eduation from Dana (Neb.) College and a master's degree from Alcorn State University. He played collegiate football at Dana, Azusa Pacific (Calif.) University and Humboldt State (Calif.) University, and was part of Azusa Pacific's 1998 NAIA national championship team. The Los Angeles native was an assistant football coach and head track coach at Dodge City (Kansas) Community College in 2004, and was an admissions counselor at Alcorn State in 2005. He also held football assistant coach positions at Alcorn State, Mansfield University, Urbana University and Humboldt State. Coach Garcia's recruiting areas include: Massachusetts leagues (Cape Ann LG, Cape Ann Small, Dual County, Hockomock, Tri Valley, Eastern Athletic, Mayflower LG, Mayflower Small, Independent), Hawaii, Alabama, California, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas, Wisconsin and West Virginia.

 

          Chris Bashaw '08 - Running Backs  

Chris Bashaw enters his second year on the Colby coaching staff as the running back coach after leading the Mules in rushing in each of his four seasons. Bashaw, a captain for the 2007 team, had 1,848 career rushing yards at Colby while being named to the NESCAC Fall All-Academic Team and earning the team’s Paul “Ginger” Frazier Award. As a first-year player at Colby, Bashaw was a three-time NESCAC Offensive Rookie of the Week. The Rutland, Mass., native was an all-conference and Worcester Telegram & Gazette all-star during his high school playing days as a running back and cornerback at Wachusett Regional High School in Holden, Mass., where he also competed in basketball and track and field.

 

            Dale Plummer - Defensive Assistant               

Dale Plummer, the head baseball coach at Colby, enters his second season with the Colby football coaching staff in the 2009-10 academic year. Plummer worked as an offensive assistant in his first year with the football team. Plummer, who was inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame in July 2009, was selected in the 1988 amateur draft by the New York Mets after graduating from the University of Maine. He earned the Mets’ Class-AAA Most Inspirational Player Award in 1993 and same year was honored with the Webster Award for being an outstanding minor league representative of the Mets both on and off the field. Plummer had a 38-19 record with 29 saves during his minor league career with the Mets and the Boston Red Sox organizations. He is a former assistant baseball coach at Bowdoin College (2001-2005) and head baseball coach at Gardiner Area High School (1996-2000).

 

            Mike Coyne - Wide Receivers  

Mike Coyne, who worked as an offensive assistant with the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens, enters his first year as an assistant coach at Colby. Coyne spent last year as a Ravens’ offensive assistant, reporting directly to head coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron. He assisted in advance scouting of opponents, performed film breakdown of opponents, contributed to opponent scouting reports, created video cut-ups for opponent and self-scout evaluation, worked with the personnel department to track production of league-wide rookie players, and helped represent the Ravens at the 2009 NFL draft. Coyne started with the Ravens in June 2007 with a public relations/personnel department internship. Coyne is a 2007 graduate of the University of Kentucky, but did not play football. He was a wide receiver for four straight undefeated teams at Hereford High School in Maryland.

 

            Mark Ozarowski '09 - Defensive Line  

Mark Ozarowski enters his first season as the defensive line coach for the Mules after being a co-captain for Colby last year. He was honored with Colby’s Norman White Award for inspirational leadership and sportsmanship during last year’s senior awards ceremony. Ozarowski also was the football team’s selection for the 2008 NESCAC Fall All-Sportsmanship Award. Ozarowski was a three-year starter on the defensive line and had 40 tackles over the past two years, including 10 for loss. Ozarowski worked as a mentor for the Colby Cares About Kids program, was a prominent member of the Colby Athletic Advisory Committee, and worked in the alumni office.

 

Chap Nelson '82 Equipment Manager

One of the more familiar faces on campus is Chap Nelson '82, who has served as Colby's equipment manager since 1985. In that role, the Clinton, Maine, native and Lawrence High School graduate oversees the procurement and maintenance of equipment and uniforms for all of the school's varsity teams, as well as the myriad of club and intramural sports offered by the College. Nelson graduated from Colby with a degree in administrative sciences, then attended The Ohio State University where he earned a master's degree in athletic administration in 1984. Nelson returned to Colby in 1985 as the equipment manager. He also has been active as an assistant baseball coach at Colby for the past 18 seasons.