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Johns Hopkins football promotes defensive coordinator Dan Wodicka to head coach

edward lee, baltimore sun
·5 min read

Dan Wodicka’s move in the workplace won’t involve much distance.

Wodicka, the defensive coordinator for Johns Hopkins football, was promoted to head coach, the program announced Thursday. Wodicka, who fills the role previously occupied by Greg Chimera, becomes the 28th head coach in school history and the second consecutive leader from the coaching tree planted by the late Jim Margraff.

“This feels absolutely right,” said Wodicka, a native of West Lafayette, Indiana. “Homewood Field [the site of Blue Jays home games] is home for me, Baltimore is home. I’ve lived 11 out of my 14 years as an adult here between school and work. So it really does feel like this is the perfect fit, and I couldn’t be more excited to keep this tradition of winning here at Hopkins.”

Johns Hopkins athletic director Jennifer S. Baker said Wodicka was one of 10 candidates she and a search committee interviewed for the vacancy.

“We talked to a number of different coaches and a pretty diverse group of coaches, and Dan set himself apart from the outset,” she said. “Candidly, I have a pretty strong track record of hiring sitting head coaches, and Dan does not have head coaching experience, but he presented himself as somebody who has that kind of experience, who can be the CEO of our program, and who cares for our young men in the way we want them to be cared for.

“He understands Hopkins so deeply and takes so much pride in this place. He understands what it is to be a player here, he understands how to be successful here, and he wants that for his players, and I have every confidence that he can sustain that because I think he’s been in that place.”

Wodicka, a 2014 graduate of the university with a bachelor’s in biomedical engineering, molded a defense that ended last season ranked 15th among all NCAA Division III schools in tackles for loss per game (3.6), 17th in total interceptions (17) and 23rd in sacks per game. In 2022, the Blue Jays ranked 17th against the run (73.0 yards per game), 23rd in points allowed (14.2 per game) and 24th in yards allowed per game (258.5).

Only 32 years old, Wodicka said his youth and lack of head coaching experience should not be viewed as obstacles.

“I know this place inside and out, and this program means so much to me, and I’m so passionate about it,” he said. “So yes, this is my first head-coaching experience, but in terms of coaching Hopkins football, I’ve been doing it for a long time, and I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to take the reins and keep it going.”

Chimera, a 2009 graduate who left Wednesday to become the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Penn, praised the university’s decision as a “slam dunk hire.”

“Dan is the perfect choice for the job,” Chimera wrote via text. “A true Hopkins guy who knows how to keep traditions alive, but also put his own spin on the program. I know for a fact the scholar athletes on the team, the recruits coming in, the alumni and the JHU staff as a whole will be thrilled to see Dan lead Blue Jays Football.”

Wodicka’s roots with the Blue Jays run deep. He played for Margraff, was a two-time All-Centennial Conference first-team wide receiver, and graduated as the program’s career leader in catches.

Wodicka coached Johns Hopkins wide receivers in 2014 and 2015 and, after coaching stints at Northern Michigan and Williams College, returned to the program in 2019 to serve as special teams coordinator and defensive line coach until his promotion in 2022.

Wodicka will be tasked with continuing or improving on the success Chimera enjoyed in four seasons when he led Johns Hopkins to a 40-7 record and two Centennial Conference titles and NCAA Division III playoff appearances, including a trip to the quarterfinals in December.

Wodicka said he welcomes the challenge of maintaining the team’s high standards.

“I love [us] being the guys with a target on our backs, and I can say that our whole team shows that exact same mindset as well,” he said. “That’s where you really become elite in all aspects of life — when you accept those challenges and take those on and know that everybody is going to be gunning for you.”

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During the interview process, Baker said she sought input from 10 players on what they were looking for in a new coach, and many of the qualities they were seeking were found in Wodicka. Elevating Wodicka also represents a bridge to maintaining continuity.

“This was not a program transition where things needed to be rebuilt,” Baker said. “We needed somebody to come in and preserve the core of the tradition and legacy that exist here, but also have the courage to make it their own. We want what’s good to stay good and what’s special to stay special, but we’re also very open to the idea that this should become Dan’s program and that he should do the things that are unique to him, and he will certainly get our full support in doing that.”

With as many as eight starters returning on defense and seven on offense, the Blue Jays seem to be in position to enjoy what Wodicka outlined as “sustained excellence” to Baker and the search committee. But he revived a favorite saying of Margraff’s that the road to a championship is always under construction as an indication that the players and coaches have to remain humble and work diligently.

Wodicka will soon move into the office previously occupied by Margraff, who died Jan. 2, 2019 of a sudden heart attack at the age of 58. Wodicka credited his former mentor with inspiring him to pursue his current occupational path.

“I don’t take for granted what he’s built here — not even just physically in this building, but emotionally for everyone who has been a part of the program,” he said. “It means everything to me. I can’t put into words how much it means to keep his legacy going on and to make sure that through our words and our actions, we’re continuing that great legacy that Coach Margraff built.”