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| Andy Fries |
Ohio Northern named Andy Fries as its head football coach on Tuesday, Dec. 12. Fries (pronounced FREEZE) is the 29th head coach in the 129-year history of Ohio Northern football and is just the school's fourth head coach in the past 38 years.
Fries replaces Dean Paul, who retired in November after 20 seasons as ONU's head coach. He was 121-77 at Ohio Northern and 161-89 overall as a Division III head coach.
"I am excited to welcome Andy Fries to ONU, our athletic department and to the football program," ONU director of athletics Tom Simmons said. "He comes very highly recommended from his peers in the football world. His enthusiasm and commitment were highly evident from the beginning and most importantly, he is student-centered. Our goal is to return to the top echelon of the OAC and we look forward to a very successful future."
Fries comes to ONU after four seasons as assistant coach at Rose-Hulman, where he served as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach from 2020-23.
"My family and I are extremely excited to be starting this new chapter at Ohio Northern University," Fries said. "We have had a lot of faith in finding the right fit for us, and we are so blessed to have found it. I would like to thank the hiring committee and President Baumann for this amazing opportunity. We are going to work in the classroom and on the field to be among the most recognized programs in the country. We cannot wait to start meeting current and future Polar Bears!"
At RHIT, Fries coached 32 All-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference honorees. In 2023, he guided the Engineers' high-powered offense that finished 20th in Division III in scoring and was 13th nationally in sacks allowed.
Fries coached one season at Davenport (Mich.) in 2018 and three seasons at Otterbein from 2015-17. He also had coaching stints at Wilmington from 2013-14 and Lakeland in 2012.
Fries is a 2009 graduate of Otterbein with a bachelor's degree in communications. He also earned a master's degree in teaching from Otterbein in 2012.