SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Slippery Rock University head football coach Shawn Lutz has announced that offensive coordinator Adam Neugebauer will step down from his position at Slippery Rock to accept the offensive coordinator role at East Tennessee State University of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
 
Neugebauer will finish his tenure at Slippery Rock this week. The Rock will begin a search to identify the next offensive coordinator for its nationally ranked football program in the coming days.
 
"I want to thank Adam for his efforts at Slippery Rock over the last three years and wish him the best of luck with his future," said SRU head coach Shawn Lutz. "He did a terrific job with our offense over the last two seasons and made a significant impact on our program. Unfortunately, part of being as successful as we have been at this level is that you tend to lose great young coaches and this is an example of that."
 
Neugebauer is the fourth consecutive offensive coordinator at Slippery Rock to depart the program for a Division I position since the 2014 season. That trend began with Phil Longo, who left SRU following the 2014 season and is currently the offensive coordinator on Mack Brown's staff at the University of North Carolina. Zack Patterson departed after the 2015 season and is currently the offensive coordinator at Hampton University of the FCS and Justin Roper left SRU after the 2018 season and is currently the offensive coordinator at Holy Cross University of the FCS.
 
"As tough as it is to lose talented young coaches, I think it says a lot about our program when you see that our last four offensive coordinators all have Division I coordinator jobs," said Lutz.
 
In two seasons at SRU, Neugebauer helped The Rock post a 22-4 overall record with two appearances in the NCAA Division II playoffs. The SRU offense ranked in the top 10 nationally in both seasons and averaged 491.0 total yards and 42.8 points over the 26 games Neugebauer oversaw the offense. Included in those numbers was an average of 337.0 passing yards per game and a total of 95 passing touchdowns (3.7 per game) over 26 games.
 
Neugebauer took over the OC position at Slippery Rock prior to the 2019 season and helped SRU to its best season in school history with a 13-1 record, PSAC and Super Region One titles and a trip to the national semifinals. He also coached quarterback Roland Rivers III to the 2019 Harlon Hill Trophy, presented to the Division II Player of the Year, which marked the first Harlon Hill winner in SRU history.
 
The Rock shattered numerous single-season offensive records in 2019 and finished the year with 7,024 yards of total offense and 647 points, averaging 501.7 yards of offense per game with 329.9 passing yards and 171.9 rushing yards per game. SRU put up 46.2 points per game and scored a program record 88 touchdowns on the year.
 
Slippery Rock won a second straight PSAC West title in 2021 and reached the NCAA playoffs for the third straight year, posting a 9-3 overall record after being decimated by injuries late in the season. The Rock's offense averaged 478.5 yards per game in 2021, which included 345.3 passing yards and 133.2 rushing yards per game. SRU averaged 38.9 points per game.
 
Neugebauer had six offensive players earn All-America honors during his two seasons at SRU, including Rivers III being named the National Player of the Year in 2019 and receiver Henry Litwin being named a consensus All-American in 2021.
 
Prior to joining the staff at SRU, Neugebauer spent two seasons as an assistant at Georgetown University and five seasons as an assistant at Tiffin University.
 
Slippery Rock will begin a search for its next offensive coordinator in the coming days.
 
 

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