Head Coach: Steve Johnson
Steve Johnson is in his 24th year as the head football coach at Bethel University. Under Johnson’s leadership, Bethel’s football program has risen to national prominence and has become a perennial contender for the MIAC championship.
In 1989 Coach Johnson took over a program that was 13-87 in the 1980’s. In his first year he was awarded MIAC Coach of the Year honors and the turn-around was under way. With 164 career wins entering the 2012 season, Johnson has been the MIAC Coach of the Year five times and the West Region Coach of the Year three times. In the last decade, the Royals have won four MIAC championships, advanced to the NCAA Division III playoffs six times and have been the NCAA West Region champions two times. Bethel has had 19 consecutive winning seasons.
The 2011 season saw the Royals go 8-2 and narrowly miss a bid to the NCAA playoffs. A Bethel record total of nine Royals were named first-team All-MIAC, while another four were named to the second-team. Coach Johnson was selected by the Minnesota Football Coaches Association as the 2011 Man of the Year, in recognition of his passion and ability to lead and mentor student athletes.
In 2010, Bethel began the season unranked but ended the season in the nation’s top four. After reaching the playoffs as a sixth seed in their region, they became West Region Champions with road wins over #3 Wartburg, #2 Wheaton, and #1 St. Thomas.
In both 2010 and 2011 Johnson has been a finalist for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year award.
Coach Johnson annually teaches a Bethel leadership class called The Band of Brothers and follows the steps of Easy Company (101st Airborne). The class takes place in Europe on the World War II battlefields where these men trained and fought.
In addition to his work at Bethel, Johnson is a frequent speaker and clinician for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes huddles and camps, a volunteer for the Union Gospel Mission summer football camp, a motivational speaker and spiritual mentor for leadership conferences and coaching clinics and recruits for the Church of the Open Door’s mentoring program.
Johnson says, “At Bethel University, we have a very distinct football program philosophy, one that is consistent with the mission of the institution as a whole. The cornerstone of our program and school is a real and intelligent faith in Jesus Christ. This faith manifests itself not in contrived or superficial ways, but in very real ways that are evidenced by our attitudes and behaviors.”
“We believe Christian faith lends direct and natural strength to our team. Filled with love from Christ, we strive more than anything to love one another. This love is evidenced by, among other things, our commitment to other members of the team. Because we are committed to one another, we hold each other accountable for great effort toward spiritual, academic, and athletic growth. Toughness and self-discipline are a result of accepting this correction and encouragement from our football family members over a period of time. At Bethel University, it is our intense goal to win each football game we play. Our goal is to win, but our focus is on one another and on the unity and growth we may achieve.”
Johnson graduated from Bethel in 1980 with a B.A. in physical education. Following graduation, he served as an assistant coach at St. Cloud State University and received his master’s degree in physical education with an emphasis in sports psychology. He then moved to St. Cloud Cathedral High School, where he was the head football coach for four years. In 1986, Johnson accepted a position as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Minnesota, where he coached running backs. He later served as an assistant coach at Montana State for two years before coming back to Bethel in 1989.
Johnson and his wife, Susan, have three children, Cornell (25) and twin daughters, Katie and Maddie (23).
Associate Head Coach/Secondary: Jimmy Miller
Coach Miller enters his 11th year as an assistant on the Bethel staff and is currently the associate head coach and secondary coach. In his time at Bethel coach Miller has helped develop a Bethel defense that has become one of the top defenses in the MIAC and in the nation. In each of the past six seasons the Royals have been either first or second in the MIAC in scoring defense. The 2011 Royals were first in the MIAC in pass defense. In 2010, Bethel was first in both scoring and total defense and intercepted the most passes in the MIAC. The Royals only allowed on average 67.0 yards/game against MIAC opponents, and allowed the fewest first downs of any MIAC team. They were ranked seventh nationally in all of NCAA DIII.
Coach Miller came to Bethel following a successful 10-year run as head coach at nearby Northwestern College. During his time at Northwestern, Miller was named the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) coach of the year twice and led the Eagles to a win in the Victory Bowl, the national championship game for the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), following the 2000 season.
Miller, a top player for the Royals after transferring in for his final two seasons, is a 1983 Bethel graduate and a 2003 inductee into the Bethel University Athletic Hall of Fame. Miller also teaches in Bethel’s Human Kinetics and Applied Science department. He and his wife Liz, also a Bethel grad, live in Falcon Heights with daughters Casey and Carly, son Beau and their yellow Labrador, Moses.
Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers: Greg Peterson
Coach Peterson is in his 21st year coaching at Bethel and tenth year as the Royals offensive coordinator.
Throughout his time as a coach at Bethel, “Petie” has coached three of the top four passers, seven of the top 11 rushers and seven of the top ten receivers in Bethel history. In 2011 Peterson was selected by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) as the NCAA Division III Assistant Coach of the Year based upon his outstanding level of commitment to the institution's program as well as his commitment to bettering others off the field.
A four-year starter on the Bethel offense from 1988-91 and a member of the Royals basketball team, Peterson graduated from Bethel in 1992 with a degree in elementary education and in 2004 earned his master’s degree in organizational leadership. In addition to his coaching duties, Peterson is Bethel’s assistant athletic director.
He and his wife Alison live in White Bear Lake with their two sons Gunnar, 9, and Wyatt, 7, and daughter Marin, 4.
Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers: Mike Fregeau
Coach Fregeau returns for his 14th year coaching at Bethel and has been an integral part of a Bethel defense that has a reputation of being the fastest and most physical in the MIAC. After working with the defensive line for six years, he is in his eighth year working with the linebackers and is now the Royals’ defensive coordinator. In 2011 Bethel’s defense was either first or second in the MIAC in most categories while the 2010 defense finished seventh in the country in total defense.
Fregeau has coached twenty-four all-conference players, including 2006 MIAC MVP, Kirby Carr, 2002 NCAA Division III sack leader, Jon Foss, and 2011 MIAC leading tackler, Billy Morgan.
In addition to coaching football, Fregeau coaches the sprinters for Bethel’s track team and has had 21 earn All-American honors.
Fregeau is a 1984 Bethel graduate and was a standout running back for the Royals during his playing career. He and his wife Cheryl, a 1983 Bethel graduate, live in Andover. The couple has two daughters Casey and Courtney, a current student at Bethel.
Running Backs: Paul Swan
Coach Swan returns for his 11th year on Bethel’s staff after a long teaching and coaching career at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Ill. Swan followed Bethel football as a fan from 1996-99 while watching his son, Eric, play for the Royals as an offensive lineman.
During Swan’s tenure as the running backs coach, Bethel has led the MIAC in rushing four times, including during the 2010 and 2011 seasons. The Royals have also produced two All-Americans: Phil Porta ’06 and Logan Flannery ’10. Porta and Flannery, along with Mike Johnson ’03, who was named an All-American in 2001, hold virtually all of the Bethel rushing records. Porta and Flannery are the top two rushers in MIAC history with 5,235 yards and 5,303 yards, respectively. In addition to his coaching duties, Swan is also the video coordinator for Bethel football.
A graduate of Trinity International University, “Swanee” and his wife Kathy reside in Buffalo Grove, Ill., and have two grown children, Eric and Aimee (Walford).
Defensive Front: Rick Meyer
Coach Rick Meyer is in his eighth year at Bethel after a two-year stint as defensive coordinator at Concordia Academy in Roseville. Prior to his time at the high school level, Meyer worked as a defensive assistant on the Bethel staff while completing his degree and becoming a certified athletic trainer.
Over the last eight years he has coached 13 All-MIAC defensive linemen and linebackers, including Zach Danielson, the recipient of the 2006 Stam Award, which goes to the league’s best offensive or defensive linemen and Billy Morgan, Bethel’s team MVP in 2011. In addition to coaching the defensive front, he also serves as Bethel’s strength and conditioning coach.
Meyer, a two-time All-MIAC defensive end for the Royals in 2000 and 2001, was a solid edge rusher for a stellar Royal defense and was part of two MIAC championship teams. He finished his playing career at Bethel having compiled 155 tackles and 21.5 sacks.
Rick and his wife Tara live in Mahtomedi with their daughters Annika and Nakari.
Quarterbacks: Scott Kirchoff
Coach Kirchoff returns for his eighth season coaching Bethel’s quarterbacks. A four-year starter for the Royals, Kirchoff set numerous conference and team passing records while leading the Royals to three national playoff appearances. Kirchoff holds career-passing records for attempts (1,041), yards (8,108), completions (636), and touchdowns (65). A three-time All-MIAC selection, Kirchoff is also the third all-time MIAC leader in passing yards (6,645).
A 2003 Bethel grad, Kirchoff holds a degree in secondary history education and works with transfer students in the Bethel admissions office. He and his wife, Megan, live in Little Canada.
Defensive Line: Chad Richards
Coach Richards begins his second season as the defensive line coach for the Royals following a five-year stint as the defensive line coach for Billings West High School in Billings, Mont. Before his time in Billings, Richards spent seven seasons coaching offensive line. He was a three-year starter and All-MIAC offensive guard for Bethel from 1994-1997.
Richards received a degree in athletic training from Bethel in 1998 and earned a master’s degree in kinesiology. He is also a certified strength and conditioning specialist.
Coach Richards and his wife Sara live in Maple Grove and have three sons: Zach, Caden, and Eli.
Defensive Assistant: Aaron Mills
Mills is returning to the Royals defensive staff for his third year. After working as the defensive line coach for the Royals in 2010, he will serve in a part-time coaching role this season. Mills was an All-MIAC defensive end for Bethel in 2007 and 2008.
Mills graduated from Bethel in 2008 with an education degree and currently works for an educational software company as a training specialist. Mills and his wife Jeni live in White Bear Lake.
Assistant Offensive Line Coach: Eric Tulberg
Coach Tulberg is in his second year as assistant offensive line coach. Tulberg coached three years of summer baseball at the high school level. He is a multi-sport adapted athlete, having been named team captain in each of his disciplines.
Tulberg received a degree in physical education—recreation, with a minor in coaching, from Southwest Minnesota State University in 2011. He brings a rich Bethel family tradition to the Royals. Coach Tulberg lives in White Bear Lake.
