Dennis Raetz (born May 20, 1946) is an American former

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

coach. He served as the head football coach at

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified ...

from 1980 to 1997 and returned as interim head coach for part of the 2007 season. Raetz was the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

at Indiana State in 1978 and 1979. He is the leader at Indiana State in tenure (18 full seasons), wins (93) and playoff appearances (2). Raetz also served as a scout for the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) from 2003 to 2005, when the franchise won two

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

championships.

Coaching career

Raetz began a coaching career that took him from North Kansas City High, where his teams were renowned for their defensive prowess, to a head coaching position at the J.C Harmon High; where he coached future

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

Pro Bowler Mark Haynes. He left there to join the staff at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

. Prior to joining the Sycamores staff, Raetz was an assistant coach at the

during the 1977 season; developing a professional partnership with

Dick Jamieson Richard Alexander Jamieson (November 13, 1937 – May 2, 2001) was an American football and baseball player and coach of football. He was the offensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) in 1997. He also ...

that would lead to

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in Vigo County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 58,389 and Terre Haute metropolitan area, its metropolitan area had a populati ...

and the Indiana State Sycamores. Joining

as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Indiana State, when Jamieson was tapped as the 14th head coach in Indiana State history; two seasons later, when Jamieson was hired onto the staff of the NFL's

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

, Raetz succeeded him as the 15th coach for the Sycamores. Raetz two best seasons at Indiana State were 1983 and 1984, when he led the Sycamores to consecutive playoff appearances. In 1983, Indiana State advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs before losing to conference foe,

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois comprising the southern third of the state, principally south of Interstate 70. Part of downstate Illinois, it is bordered by the two List of U.S. rivers by discharge, most voluminous ri ...

. The Sycamores took the momentum gained from 1983 season and ran off nine straight victories to open the 1984 season; they achieved the top spot in the nation with a No. 1 ranking. The 1984 season came to an end in the NCAA Division I-AA quarterfinals when the Sycamores dropped a 42–41 overtime decision to

Middle Tennessee Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the state's capital an ...

. Raetz led the Sycamores to two of the program's three nine-win seasons. Raetz coached eight First Team All-Americans; 65 All-Missouri Valley/Missouri Valley Football players, 6 Collegiate All-Star players, 8 Conference Players of the Year, and sent 14 players to the professional ranks; most notably: *

Tunch Ilkin Tunch Ilkin (; September 23, 1957 – September 4, 2021) was a Turkish-American professional American football, football player and sports broadcaster. A two-time Pro Bowl selection as an offensive tackle with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he was th ...

, a two-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle with the Steelers; he finished his career with the Packers. * Wayne Davis, a cornerback with the Chargers, Bills and Redskins. *

Vencie Glenn Vencie Leonard Glenn (born October 26, 1964) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 1986 NFL draft. H ...

, the safety who played for the Patriots, Chargers, Saints, Vikings and Giants. * Mike Simmonds, an offensive lineman who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Among the assistant coaches who worked for Raetz and went on to NFL head coach, assistant coach or player personnel positions were

Sean Payton Patrick Sean Payton (born December 29, 1963) is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Previously, he served as the head coach of the Ne ...

(

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

Dave McGinnis David McGinnis (born August 7, 1951) is a former National Football League (NFL) coach and college player who is the color commentator for the Tennessee Titans Radio Network. He was assistant head coach of the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams from 2012 ...

(

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

), (

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

), Pete Hoener (

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

), Bobby Turner (

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

), Dave Magazu (

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

) and Alvin Reynolds (

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

), (

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

Head coaching record

College

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raetz, Dennis 1946 births Living people American football offensive linemen Edmonton Elks personnel Indiana State Sycamores football coaches Missouri Tigers football coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers football players High school football coaches in Kansas High school football coaches in Missouri Sportspeople from North Platte, Nebraska Canadian Football League scouts