Coe football is a father-son experience

CEDAR RAPIDS - Coe College football coach Steve Staker reclined back in his office chair with hands folded, the picture of relaxation. His son and offensive coordinator, Tyler, was in a chair next to him, constantly fidgeting and wobbling his legs back and forth with nervous energy.

If you wanted the picture that perfectly sums up this unique coaching partnership and why it works so well, here it was.

"There are a lot of things that Tyler thinks about that I don't think about," Steve Staker said. "But on the other hand, I think from a maturity standpoint, I maybe have a little more patience than what he does ... Tyler's pretty aggressive, I think."

The son smiles.

"Dad could come into work every day and go down to (athletic director) John Chandler's office and sit there and chat for five hours," he said. "I'll be like 'Well, we need to get this done and this done. What about this?' But you need a balance between those two things. In talking to dad about being a coach, he said he was always aggressive and fiery and got all worked up at times.

"Where now that he's had experience, those things don't affect him as much. I think players see that as well. You're never too high, you're never too low as a coach. That's an important aspect of it that I've learned."

These are great days for Coe College football. In their bye week after last Saturday's 24-22 escape of Dubuque, the Kohawks are 5-0 and ranked sixth in NCAA Division III by d3football.com and eighth by the American Football Coaches Association.

Coe surprised a lot of people with its first-round playoff win last season at St. John's (Minn.). That momentum has carried through to 2010, including a memorable 37-28 win over Central two weeks ago in a battle of top-10 ranked teams.

"First of all, I think we've had some kids who have come in that have the potential to be pretty good players," Steve Staker said. "I think that, coupled with some really good coaching, has a lot to do with it. These kids have allowed us to coach them up. They've paid attention, so they're doing those things that make them better."

At an age where he should be on a golf course instead of a football field, Steve Staker is the leader of this program. At 67, he's in his third season as head coach, following four years as defensive coordinator and a 35-year hall-of-fame prep career at Fredericksburg.

By contrast, his youngest son, Tyler, is just 27. A quarterback  on Fredericksburg's 2001 state championship team and an all-region defensive back at Coe, he had all of two years of graduate assistant experience when he was named offensive coordinator in 2008.

"The Stakers are outstanding human beings, first of all," said Coe defensive coordinator Larry Atwater. "I remember the day Steve was named head coach. We were in John Chandler's office, talking about who should run the offense. We kind of threw out 'Well, what about Tyler?' It's been just a great choice."

Tyler is the youngest of Steve and Linda Staker's five children, all of them Coe graduates. Cody, Shane and Lance also played football for the Kohawks, while daughter, Shannon, married Coe baseball coach and assistant athletics director Steve Cook.

This is a Kohawk family, no doubt.

"I've got the best of both worlds," Steve Staker said. "I'm able to be a head coach at a college, which I never really pursued. That was never my ultimate goal. I enjoyed coaching in high school and teaching in high school, but this opportunity came about. The family was gone, Tyler is our youngest ... For me, it was a chance to say 'OK, here's an opportunity. And it's at Coe, where all my kids went to school."

"It's a pretty cool experience to be able to coach with your dad," Tyler Staker said. "To coach a sport that you love, being surrounded by a bunch of guys you (enjoy being with). It's really a family atmosphere. Then to have your dad next to you, it makes it that much better. I'm sure a lot of sons wish they were in my shoes, in this situation where you get to work with your dad every day. I feel really fortunate."

The Stakers are quick to point out the chemistry of the entire coaching staff.

Atwater, for instance, has been at the school for 21 years. Defensive line-special teams coach Jim Dostal was an acclaimed player at the school, like Atwater, and had success as head coach at Cedar Rapids Jefferson. 

"My thing is they work really, really hard at what they do," Chandler said. "I mean, you go to the different places (in the Iowa Conference). We have a nice turf field, but our stadium isn't like some of these other places. They work very hard building relationships with the recruits, and they are very honest with them about the kind of experience they are going to have here. They're going to have a great academic experience, and that athletic experience just accentuates the academic experience.

"That's what we're built on. That's what Division III is about."

Steve Staker said he has no timetable for retirement. He's healthy, loves what he does, loves coaching with his son and feels he relates with players who are almost 40 years younger.

You wouldn't be terribly surprised to see Tyler take over for him when he does finally hang up his whistle, though that appears to be a ways off. There are some more things to accomplish.

Maybe even a national title some day?

"It's possible," Steve said. "And I think it's something we constantly need to strive for. Aim high, and that's pretty doggone high."