FootballScoop is proud to announce that Shane Dierking (North Central) is the 2022 FootballScoop Division III Coordinator of the Year, presented by AstroTurf as selected by prior winners.
North Central won the Division III national championship in 2022, because it had the best team. That goes without saying. North Central had the best team because it had the best offense and the best defense in Division III, bar none.
The Cardinals led the NCAA's largest division in scoring offense (52.4 points per game) and scoring defense (6.7).
Shane Dierking's defense held 11 of 15 opponents to single digits and pitched an astounding five shutouts. Even more impressive: four of those shutouts were consecutive.
North Central allowed Wheaton a 14-yard touchdown pass with 5:37 to play in a 33-20 win on Oct. 1. A Cardinals opponent did not score again until Illinois Wesleyan booted a 24-yard field goal at the 10:13 mark of the second quarter of their game on Nov. 5, and an NCC foe did not cross the goal line with the ball in his hand until the 2:35 mark of the first quarter of their second-round playoff game against Carnegie Mellon on Nov. 26.
In the interim, North Central went 430 plays -- and eight weeks in the real world -- without surrendering a touchdown.
North Central defended 418 rushes, yielding 788 yards and a grand total of two touchdowns, ranking second in rushing defense and touchdowns allowed.
Opponents hoisted 466 passes, completing 247 (53 percent) for 2,351 yards (5.05 per attempt) with 12 touchdowns against 24 interceptions.
A large reason why North Central pitched so many shutouts is because opponents simply couldn't hold on to the ball. The Cardinals forced 36 turnovers, the third most in Division III. Opponents also converted only 24.9 percent of third downs, the third best rate in the nation.
Defensive lineman Dan Lester and defensive back Antwain Walker were named AP First Team All-Americans; Lester shared the CCIW's Don Larson Defensive Student-Athlete of the Year award. Defensive end Tyler Rich, linebacker BJ Adamchik, and safety Julian Bell joined Lester and Walker on the as First Team All-CCIW selections. Defensive linemen Ben Gilroy and Brandon Greifelt, linebacker Sam Taviani and safety Zach Orr were Second Team All-CCIW honorees.
Dierking played in a school-record 51 games, set the school record for interceptions, and was a First Team All-American in 2013. The 2014 NCC graduate started coaching as a GA at his alma mater and spent 2016-17 as the defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator at Benedictine University. He rejoined the staff as defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach in 2018. Also NCC's assistant head coach, Dierking now coaches linebackers.
The FootballScoop Coaches of the Year awards presented by AstroTurf are the only set of awards that recognize the most outstanding position coaches in college football. The finalists (Nick Brady [Delaware Valley], Jeff Dittman [RPI], Matthew Popino [Endicott], Matt Wheeler [Wartburg] and Dierking) were selected based off of nominations by coaches, athletic directors, and athletic department personnel. The prior winners selected this year's winner.
Previous winners of the Division III Coordinator of the Year award are Glen Fowles (Williamette [Ore.], 2008), Jim Zebrowski (Wisconsin-Whitewater, 2009), Vince Kehres (Mount Union [Ohio], 2010), Wallie Kuchinski (Saint Thomas [Minn.], 2011), John O’Grady (Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 2012), Brian Borland (Wisconsin-Whitewater, 2013), Jackson Vaughan (Linfield, 2014), Chris Kappas (Mount Union [Ohio], 2015), Brandon Staley (John Carroll [Ohio], 2016), Larry Harmon (Mary Hardin-Baylor [Texas], 2017), Mike Fox (Brockport [N.Y.], 2018), Brad Spencer (North Central [Ill.], 2019), and Nick Brady (Delaware Valley, 2021).
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