Committee releases finalists for CSC’s next head football coach

Chadron State’s search committee whittled down the list of people seeking to be the college’s next head football coach from more than 45 candidates to three finalists, a press release issued Thursday morning states.

Only two of the three candidates are CSC alumni, but all three share an extensive history with football.

The candidates are Jay Long, head football coach at Black Hills State; Brad McCaslin, former University of Nebraska-Omaha football coach; and Chris Stein, quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at Chadron State.

The release states that each candidate will be in Chadron between today and tomorrow for on-campus interviews.

Long stated Thursday morning via email that he was excited for the possibility to coach where he played football in college.

“To me it is a coach’s dream to coach at their alma mater. It is a chance for me to give back to a place that gave me so many positive experiences as a two-sport athlete,” Long stated.

Long also stated that he had an emotional connection to the college, and that someone with ties to the program would be beneficial for the institution.

“‘Chadron Football’ is a special place and so many people are tied to it emotionally. I feel that this job has to have a Chadron football guy involved with it or it will lose being special to many people,” Long stated.

Long expressed his vision for CSC football by stating three goals he had for the program.

“Number one: We will graduate our student/athletes
Number two: We will continue the Chadron State tradition of outworking, outhitting, and outplaying our opponent – PLAY CHADRON FOOTBALL!!
Number three: We will provide our athletes with the tools to be a successful person.”

Stein and McCaslin did not respond to a Thursday morning request for an interview.