When Thomas University (NAIA - GA) set out to hire the first head football coach in the program's history, they had to find someone up for one of the most unique situations in college football.
You see, Thomas University is committed to providing educational opportunities to "non-traditional" students.
What exactly does that mean? For starters, the football team is planning to build a team from the ground up with a roster comprised solely with military service veterans.
Yes. You read that right. Pretty unique, right?
To do that, Thomas U decided on Orlando Mitjans Jr. as their first ever head football coach.
Mitjans Jr. brings some unique experience to a challenging job after previously working at The Citadel, where he has spent the past several years working with the secondary.
Prior to that he was the assistant head coach at the United State Military Academy at West Point.
When asked in the school's official release of his hiring what drew him to Thomas University, Mitjans said it was due to the unique way that the program is focused on helping people transition from military life back to civilian life, and being able to use football as a vehicle to help that transition.
With an impressive list of personal coaching mentors that range from Lou Holtz to Jeff Monken, Mitjans is uniquely qualified to take on one of the most interesting jobs in college football.
The mission of helping those who have served in our military in their life after their unselfish service is something we should all be able to get behind, and is a noble mission that we can all agree doesn't get enough attention and funding from where it is supposed to.
So here's to hoping Thomas University, and coach Mitjans Jr. all the success humanely possible.