Lake Erie College looking for new head football coach
Nov. 15—The Lake Erie football team is once again in search of a head football coach.
D.J. Boldin is no longer the head man in charge of the Storm. As of Nov. 15, Boldin bio's does not appear on Lake Erie's athletic website (lakeeriestorm.com).
On LEC's web site is a job posting for "Head Coach, Football," saying "the coach is responsible for recruiting and organization of the College's football program."
On Jan. 25, 2022, Boldin was officially named LEC's head football coach after serving for a short while as the program's interim coach when Reilly Murphy stepped down following the 2021 campaign.
Boldin became LEC's fifth head coach in program history, but now the Storm will be on its third head coach in five years when the new year arrives in less than two months.
When contacted by The News-Herald, Boldin said in a text he would refrain from commenting on his situation.
LEC athletic director Molly Hoffman said in an email to The News-Herald, "We have opened a national search for a new head coach and within 24 hours we have over 30 applicants. We are excited about what a new head coach may bring to our program."
LEC was 3-8 in 2022, then took a step back this past season during a 1-10 campaign. In the preseason, Boldin had high hopes for an improved mark in 2023. He made preseason camp a difficult one for the players, with the intent of taking the program to another level.
"I wanted to make camp very hard, but I don't know if I went hard enough," Boldin told The News-Herald in preseason. "The culture, the standard, being a part of something that's bigger than themselves. ... We're talking national championship. That's the standard. That's the bar. Anything less than that is a failure."
There was also an overhaul in players. LEC started the season with more than 120 players on its roster. According to Boldin, about 70 were new, with roughly 50 who remained from 2022.
The Storm lost their season opener to Franklin Pierce, 26-10, then rebounded with a 24-21 road win against Northern Michigan. Then they lost their last nine games by an average score of 44.8-14.7.
Whoever LEC's next head football coach is, that person faces a daunting challenge. The last 10 full seasons — including an 0-3 mark in the shortened COVID spring season of 2020 — the program is 24-88. The high-water marks in the last decade were a 5-6 record in 2021 and back-to-back 4-7 marks in 2013 and 2014.
The Storm's home field at Jack Britt Stadium a few minutes from campus hasn't always been the ideal site compared to most Division II programs, especially those in LEC's conference, the Great Midwest Athletic.
