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| Joe Freitag, a former offensive lineman at Monmouth and an assistant coach at Coe, Augsburg, Benedictine and Monmouth, gets his first head coaching job. Sewanee photo by Buck Butler |
Sewanee athletic director John Shackelford announced the hiring of Monmouth's Joe Freitag as the 33rd head coach in program history on Thursday.
Freitag has served the last 11 years as the offensive coordinator at Monmouth, a Division III institution in Monmouth, Illinois, in the Midwest Conference. He coached the offensive line for 10 years and moved to working with quarterbacks this past season for the Scots, who have posted an 85-21 record over 10 seasons (no games were played in 2020) during Freitag's tenure on staff.
Sewanee's last season with a winning record was 2000.
"We are excited to introduce Joe Freitag as the next head football coach of the Sewanee Tigers," Shackelford said. "Joe brings a wealth of competitive Division III experience and is widely known as a strong recruiter, an innovative strategic coordinator, and a player's coach who has successfully built transformational relationships with his student-athletes. He has a record of helping student-athletes balance a rigorous academic curriculum with a demanding athletic schedule, and the ability to participate in many leadership roles across campus."
Monmouth has registered a 68-4 mark in the Midwest Conference since the start of the 2015 season, reaching the NCAA postseason in 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2025 and winning conference championships in 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2025.
"I am honored and excited to be named the next football coach at Sewanee," Freitag said. "I want to extend my sincere gratitude to athletic director John Shackelford, associate athletic director Carrie Austin, and vice-chancellor Rob Pearigen for their confidence in me and their support of this program. It is evident that Sewanee has a rich tradition, commitment to excellence, and a strong sense of community. I look forward to working with our student-athletes, staff, and community as we build a winning program, one that strives for success both on-and-off the field. My family and I are thrilled to join the Sewanee community and make the Domain our home."
The Springfield, Ill., native helped Monmouth to back-to-back league championships in 2016 and 2017, averaging more than 500 yards of offense per game in 2016. DeAndre Wright posted consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons during those campaigns.
Joe Krall garnered All-Region honors on the offensive line in three straight seasons from 2017-19 and he was named an All-American by the Associated Press, the American Football Coaches' Association and D3football.com in 2019. Derek Brown earned All-Region accolades on the offensive line in 2022 and 2023 as well.
Freitag worked three seasons at Benedictine University in suburban Chicago from 2012-14, reaching the postseason in his last year with the Eagles.
Freitag played on the offensive line at Monmouth from 2003-06, helping the Scots to an undefeated regular season in 2005, winning their first conference title since 1976. During his four-year playing career, Monmouth registered a 34-7 overall record. He was named all-conference three times and earned All-Region honors from D3football.com and the Don Hansen Football Gazette as a senior.
Freitag began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Coe in 2007 and then worked two years at Augsburg College in Minnesota as the offensive line and special teams coach. From there he went to Benedictine as the offensive coordinator before returning to Monmouth for the 2015 season.
Freitag earned his bachelor's degree in history from Monmouth in 2007 and received his master's in teaching from Coe College in 2010. He and his wife, Amy, also a 2007 Monmouth graduate, have two children – daughter Etta and son Graham.