Springfield, Mass. -- January 12, 2010 -- Springfield College alums Bob Surace and Jared Backus have recently teamed up to coach football at Princeton University. Surace, an SC graduate student, Class of '92, and former assistant football coach at Springfield College, was named the 22nd head football coach at Princeton on December 24. Backus, an SC undergrad Class of '93, was then named Princeton's defensive coordinator by Surace on January 9. Surace, a native of Millville, N.J., had been an assistant football coach with the Cincinnati Bengals in the National Football League for the last nine seasons. He began his coaching career in 1990 as running backs coach at Springfield College under Head Coach Mike DeLong. Surace graduated from SC with a master's degree in sport management in '92. He had graduated from Princeton in 1990.
Backus, a native of Saugatuck, Conn., had been an assistant defensive coach at Temple University for the previous three seasons. "Jared is a terrific football coach with an excellent background as a I-AA coordinator and most recently as the linebackers coach at Temple," said Surace, who coached Backus when he was an undergrad at Springfield College. "Ive known Jared since he was a player . I value the intensity, toughness, and leadership he brings to the position. His track record of success as a position coach and coordinator will be great assets to our program."
Backus began his coaching career at King's College (Pa.) as a strength & conditioning intern in 1994. He then moved on to Springfield College as a grad assistant in 1995. Backus had earned a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1993. He later received a master's degree in physical education from SC in 1998.
Michael C. “Mike” DeLong ’74 enters his 31st season as a head football coach in the fall of 2012. He enters his 29th year at Springfield College alone. For the past 28 years, he has been the head coach at Springfield, his alma mater. Mike had also been the head coach at Maine Maritime in Castine, Maine in 1979 and 1980. Read more.
