Jerry Schmitt (born September 16, 1960) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at Duquesne University, a position he had held since the 2005 season. Schmitt served as the head coach at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania from 2000 to 2004. He is an alumnus of Westminster College, where he played as an offensive lineman on the football team. Prior to receiving the head coach position at Westminster, Schmidt was an assistant at Duquesne and a high school football coach in Pennsylvania.
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Duquesne |
| Conference | NEC |
| Record | 128–86 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | September 16, 1960 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1979–1981 | Westminster (PA) |
| Position(s) | Offensive lineman |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1983–1984 | West Allegheny HS (PA) (OL/DL/JV) |
| 1985–1987 | Duquesne (assistant) |
| 1988 | Avonworth HS (PA) (OL/DL) |
| 1989 | Bethel Park HS (PA) (OL/DL) |
| 1990–1991 | South Fayette HS (PA) |
| 1992 | Duquesne (assistant) |
| 1993–1999 | Duquesne (OC) |
| 2000–2004 | Westminster (PA) |
| 2005–present | Duquesne |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 156–107 (college) |
| Tournaments | 1–3 (NCAA D-I playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 3 MAAC (2005–2007) 7 NEC (2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2023, 2024) | |
College career
editAfter graduating from Pittsburgh’s Keystone Oaks High School in 1978, Schmitt played for Westminster College in Pennsylvania. As a senior in 1981, he led them to an undefeated regular season. In his time there, he was a three-year letterman.[1]
Coaching career
editReturn to Duquesne
editHowever, COVID-19 issues scrapped the only game outside Big 12 play last season along with a bowl appearance.[2]
Duquesne began the 2021 season with a 45–3 loss to the TCU Horned Frogs.[2] They finished the season 7–3, and 5–2 in the NEC in 2021.[3]
In 2023, Schmitt was named the NEC Coach of the Year, his second since 2018. That season, they went 6–1 in their conference and had an overall record of 7-4. With a win over Merrimac, they won the NEC title and qualified for the FCS playoffs.[4] In the first round, they were defeated by the Youngstown State Penguins.[5]
Head coaching record
editCollege
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westminster Titans (Presidents' Athletic Conference) (2000–2004) | |||||||||
| 2000 | Westminster | 8–2 | N/A | N/A | |||||
| 2001 | Westminster | 4–5 | N/A | N/A | |||||
| 2002 | Westminster | 6–4 | 4–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 2003 | Westminster | 5–5 | 3–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 2004 | Westminster | 5–5 | 2–3 | 4th | |||||
| Westminster: | 28–21 | 9–6 | |||||||
| Duquesne Dukes (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) (2005–2007) | |||||||||
| 2005 | Duquesne | 7–3 | 4–0 | 1st | |||||
| 2006 | Duquesne | 7–3 | 3–1 | 1st | |||||
| 2007 | Duquesne | 6–4 | 2–1 | 1st | |||||
| Duquesne Dukes (Northeast Conference) (2008–present) | |||||||||
| 2008 | Duquesne | 3–7 | 2–5 | 6th | |||||
| 2009 | Duquesne | 3–8 | 2–6 | T–7th | |||||
| 2010 | Duquesne | 7–4 | 5–3 | 3rd | |||||
| 2011 | Duquesne | 9–2 | 7–1 | T–1st | |||||
| 2012 | Duquesne | 5–6 | 3–5 | T–6th | |||||
| 2013 | Duquesne | 7–4 | 4–2 | T–1st | |||||
| 2014 | Duquesne | 6–6 | 2–4 | 5th | |||||
| 2015 | Duquesne | 8–4 | 5–1 | 1st | L NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
| 2016 | Duquesne | 8–3 | 5–1 | T–1st | |||||
| 2017 | Duquesne | 7–4 | 4–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 2018 | Duquesne | 9–4 | 5–1 | T–1st | L NCAA Division I Second Round | ||||
| 2019 | Duquesne | 6–5 | 4–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 2020–21 | Duquesne | 4–1 | 4–0 | 1st | |||||
| 2021 | Duquesne | 7–4 | 5–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 2022 | Duquesne | 4–7 | 3–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 2023 | Duquesne | 7–5 | 6–1 | 1st | L NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
| 2024 | Duquesne | 8–2 | 5–0 | ||||||
| Duquesne: | 128–86 | 80–43 | |||||||
| Total: | 156–107 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Jerry Schmitt - Football Coach". Duquesne University Athletics. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ a b "TCU 45-3 Duquesne (Sep 4, 2021) Game Recap". ESPN. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ Hunt, Kelvin (August 24, 2022). "FSU football: Duquesne offensive and defensive tale of the tape". Chop Chat. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ Darnay, Mike (November 23, 2023). "Duquesne football coach Jerry Schmitt named NEC Coach of the Year - CBS Pittsburgh". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ Weiss, Zachary (November 30, 2023). "Weiss: In Loss Duquesne Football Appreciates Achieving Goal". Pittsburgh Sports Now. Retrieved February 21, 2024.