Head Coach Mike Donnelly
Defensive Coordinator/Cornerbacks

Mike Donnelly is the winningest head coach in the history of Muhlenberg College football with a record of 84-54 (.609) in 13 years. Since taking over a program that won a total of 18 games in the eight years prior to his arrival, Donnelly has turned the Mules into a perennial championship contender and national top-10 team.

Donnelly was named regional coach of the year by the American Football Coaches Association and D3football.com in 2007 after leading Muhlenberg to its first undefeated regular-season in the 106-year program history. The Mules won the Centennial Conference championship, finished the regular season with a 10-0 record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs. They were ranked eighth in the country in the final poll of the season.

The 2008 squad repeated as CC champion and rose to No. 2 in one national poll — the highest national ranking ever for any Muhlenberg team in any sport. Donnelly was voted CC coach of the year.

The Mules are 82-40 (.672) in their last 122 games and have earned seven postseason invitations since 2000. They tied for the Centennial Conference championship four straight years (2001-04) and made their first national playoff appearance in 2002.

In 1999, Muhlenberg finished 6-4 for its first winning record since 1989 and broke or tied 57 school, CC and NCAA records. The 2000 team tied a school record by winning nine games and earned the program’s first postseason bid since 1946. That squad also had three All-Americans for the first time ever. In 2001, Muhlenberg was ranked 16th in Division III in a preseason poll, and the 2002 squad finished ranked 17th after winning 10 games.

The 2003 Mules won their final seven regular-season games and became the first team to win the CC title after losing the conference opener. They duplicated that feat in 2004 and led Division III in total defense.

In his 13 seasons, Donnelly has coached 13 All-Americans, seven Centennial Conference players of the year and five Academic All-Americans.

Donnelly brought to Muhlenberg impressive credentials as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Columbia, where he was instrumental in bringing a struggling program to national prominence in his four seasons there. The Lions ranked in the top 20 nationally in Division I in seven defensive categories in 1996 and compiled an 8-2 record, their best in 51 years. One of his charges, defensive end Marcellus Wiley, was a second-round draft pick of the Buffalo Bills.

Originally from Albany, N.Y., Donnelly is a 1975 graduate of Ithaca College, where he was an all-conference linebacker. He has nearly 30 years of coaching experience at the Division I, II and III levels, including stints at Albany, East Stroudsburg, Rensselaer, Ithaca, Lafayette and Buffalo. He coached the linebackers at Ithaca, helping his alma mater to the 1980 NCAA Division III championship game while also leading the Bombers to four consecutive conference track titles.

Mike Donnelly Year by Year Year W-L-T Championships/Postseason 2009 3-7 2008 9-2 CC champions, NCAA Tournament 2007 11-1 CC champions, NCAA Tournament (second round) 2006 5-5 2005 3-7 2004 8-3 CC co-champions, NCAA Tournament 2003 7-3 CC co-champions, NCAA Tournament 2002 10-2 CC co-champions, NCAA Tournament (second round) 2001 7-4 CC co-champions, ECAC Southeast bid 2000 9-2 ECAC Southwest champions 1999 6-4 1998 5-5 1997 1-9

To contact Coach Donnelly: Mike Donnelly Muhlenberg College 2400 Chew Street Allentown, PA 18104 (484) 664-3385 mdonnell@muhlenberg.edu

Assistant Coach Jeff Knarr
Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks

Jeff Knarr is in his fourth year as offensive coordinator, his ninth year as a full-time coach at Muhlenberg and his 11th with the Mules overall.

In Knarr’s first three years as offensive coordinator, Muhlenberg has shown great improvement in points per game (from 13.8 in 2005 to 20.5 to 29.7 to 30.8) and yards per game (261.8 to 284.4 to 377.7 to 410.8). The Mules led the Centennial Conference in scoring offense in their 2007 championship season and were second last year.

Knarr was a part-time assistant on the defensive line for two seasons before shifting to serve as quarterbacks and receivers coach and special teams coordinator in 2001. He coordinated outstanding special teams units that ranked 19th in Division III in punt returns in 2001 and scored five touchdowns in 2002. In 2003, the Mules blocked 12 kicks and ranked in the top 25 in Division III in both punt returns and kickoff returns.

A 1994 graduate of East Stroudsburg University, Knarr joined the Mule coaching ranks in 1999 after four seasons as head coach at Notre Dame High School in Easton. In 1995, his team went 8-3, the best record at the small school since 1979. Previously, Knarr was defensive coordinator for two years at Notre Dame.

Assistant Coach Tom Perkovich
Special Teams Coordinator/Offensive Line

Tom Perkovich takes on the additional duty of special teams coordinator in his sixth season at Muhlenberg.

One of Perkovich’s linemen earned first-team All-Centennial Conference honors each of the last three years. The Mules had a whopping 8:30-plus average time of possession edge the last two years.

Perkovich was running backs coach in 2003 and 2004, helping the Mules to consecutive Centennial Conference championships. Six different backs recorded 100-yard games in his two years, and one became the program’s all-time leading rusher and scorer.

After leaving Muhlenberg, Perkovich furthered his experience at two Division I schools. He was tight ends coach at College of the Holy Cross for the 2005 season and running backs coach at Colgate University in the spring of 2006.

A native of Tonawanda, N.Y., Perkovich was an all-star offensive lineman at Canisius College, earning second-team mid-major All-America honors from Football Gazette as a senior. He played in all 42 games during his four-year career, starting the final 31, and also was a four-year letterwinner in basketball.

Assistant Coach Ron Hannis Defensive Line Now in his sixth year on the Muhlenberg staff, Ron Hannis was an assistant football coach in the Wilson Area School District from 1998 to 2003, serving as offensive coordinator, offensive and defensive line coach and strength coach. For the previous four years, he coached in the Salisbury Twp. School District. Hannis is a 1994 graduate of East Stroudsburg University, where he won three varsity letters as an offensive guard, earning all-conference honors in 1991.

Assistant Coach Mike Litzenberger Inside Linebackers Mike Litzenberger joined the Muhlenberg staff for the 2009 season, bringing 26 years of coaching experience at local high schools. He spent the last six seasons at Catasauqua High School, including the last three as head coach. He previously worked on staffs at Dieruff (1983-88), Emmaus (1989-93), Parkland (1994-2001) and Freedom (2002) high schools.

Assistant Coach Mike Nolan Tight Ends A big part of the Mules’ recent success, both literally and figuratively, Mike Nolan will coach the tight ends. The 6-4, 300-pound Nolan was a first-team All-Centennial Conference center three straight years, including two seasons as a unanimous selection. In 2008, he was named a preseason All-American by Sporting News and D3football.com. Nolan was co-captain of the team in 2008, when he was selected to the Academic All-District first team.

Assistant Coach Andy Romans Safeties One of the top college football players in the area the last four years, Andy Romans joined the Mule program in 2009. Romans was two-time Patriot League defensive player of the year as a linebacker at Lafayette College. In 2008, he was named to the FCS All-America second team by Associated Press and The Sports Network and was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, given to the top defensive player in the FCS. A three-time All-Patriot selection and member of two PL championship teams, Romans attended the New York Giants minicamp in May 2009.

Assistant Coach Jeff Fisher Wide Receivers Jeff Fisher is in his first season on the Muhlenberg staff. He was an assistant at Southern Lehigh High School in 2008, coaching the wide receivers and safeties. For the three previous years, Fisher coached the wide receivers and outside linebackers at Notre Dame High School.

Assistant Coach James Lastowski Running Backs James Lastowski is in his second year coaching at Muhlenberg, moving to the running back corps after coaching the tight ends in 2008. Lastowski is a 2007 graduate of the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. While enrolled there he spent four seasons coaching at Bishop Stang (Mass.) High School. Lastowski was a three-year letterman for Northampton (Mass.) High School, earning all-league honors his senior season. He spent the 2007 football season as a graduate assistant coach at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, where he worked with the tight ends.

Assistant Coach Matt Rathbun Outside Linebackers After four years as an outstanding player for Muhlenberg, Matt Rathbun traded in his helmet for a whistle to coach a position he knows very well. Rathbun was Centennial Conference defensive player of the year and a third-team All-American at outside linebacker in 2008. Rathbun finished his career with 212 total tackles, including 37 for loss, and 14 takeaways on a school-record eight fumble recoveries and six interceptions.