Rod Sandberg (born c. 1969) is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach for Whitworth University, a position he has held since 2014.
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Whitworth |
| Conference | NWC |
| Record | 83–23 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | c. 1969 (age 54–55) |
| Playing career | |
| 1987–1990 | Wheaton (IL) |
| Position(s) | Defensive back |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1991 | Aurora (assistant) |
| 1993–1994 | Georgetown (KY) (assistant) |
| 1995–2002 | Wheaton (IL) (LB) |
| 2003–2013 | Wheaton (IL) (DC) |
| 2014–present | Whitworth |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 83–23 |
| Tournaments | 2–3 (NCAA D-III playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 3 NWC (2018, 2020, 2023) | |
Sandberg played college football as a defensive back at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois from 1987 to 1990.[1] He began his coaching career in 1991 as an assistant at Aurora University in Aurora, Illinois and spent 1993 and 1994 as an assistant coach at Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky. Sandberg returned to Wheaton in 1995 as linebackers coach and was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2003.[2]
Sandberg was hired by Whitworth in December 2013 to succeed John Tully as head football coach. He was selected over Chris Tormey, who had been the head football coach at University of Idaho and the University of Nevada, and John Sala, the head football coach at Louisburg College, a junior college in Louisburg, North Carolina.[3][4]
Head coaching record
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | D3# | AFCA° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitworth Pirates (Northwest Conference) (2014–present) | |||||||||
| 2014 | Whitworth | 6–4 | 4–3 | 4th | |||||
| 2015 | Whitworth | 9–2 | 6–1 | 2nd | L NCAA Division III First Round | 20 | |||
| 2016 | Whitworth | 8–2 | 6–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 2017 | Whitworth | 8–2 | 5–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 2018 | Whitworth | 10–1 | 7–0 | 1st | L NCAA Division III Second Round | 10 | |||
| 2019 | Whitworth | 6–3 | 5–2 | 2nd | |||||
| 2020–21 | Whitworth | 4–0 | 4–0 | 1st | |||||
| 2021 | Whitworth | 7–3 | 4–3 | 4th | |||||
| 2022 | Whitworth | 6–4 | 4–3 | T–4th | |||||
| 2023 | Whitworth | 10–1 | 7–0 | 1st | L NCAA Division III Second Round | 17 | 16 | ||
| 2024 | Whitworth | 9–1 | 6–1 | 2nd | 16 | 10 | |||
| Whitworth: | 83–23 | 58–16 | |||||||
| Total: | 83–23 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References
edit- ^ Owens, John (September 7, 1990). "Wheaton takes aim against Millikin, Augustana". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. p. 53. Retrieved January 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com
.
- ^ Clouse, Thomas (December 16, 2013). "Whitworth picks Rod Sandberg as football coach". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
- ^ Clouse, Thomas (December 18, 2013). "Pirates hand reins to Sandberg". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. B1. Retrieved January 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ Clouse, Thomas (December 18, 2013). "Sandberg (continued)". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. B8. Retrieved January 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .
