2007 Coaches

Coach Greg Brooks begins his fifth season at the helm of the Bluffton Beavers football team. The Beavers were 2-8 during his first season as head coach at Bluffton and recorded a 5-5 finish in 2004 for a third place tie in the Heartland Conference.  The past two seasons the Beavers finished 3-7. He took over the reins following 24 years as the offensive coordinator and coach of the quarterbacks.

Brooks graduated in 1977 from Ohio University, where he was the quarterback and four-year letterman for the Bobcats. He then went on to Marshall University to complete his master’s degree and was a graduate assistant for the football program from 1977-79. He was an assistant track and football coach at Huron High School for two seasons before coming to Bluffton.

Since Brooks’ arrival at Bluffton, the Beavers have had 16 seasons in which they averaged more than 300 yards per game in total offense, including five seasons with an average of more than 400 yards per game. Brooks has directed the top six scoring squads in Bluffton history and helped lead the Beavers to the NAIA national playoffs in 1987 and 1988 and to the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference title in 2000.

He was the head baseball coach at Bluffton for 22 years, coaching his teams to a school-record 266 wins. His teams made the NAIA District 22 playoffs four times in the 1980s and twice the Beavers were the Association of Mideast Colleges tournament runner-up in the 1990s. Brooks relinquished the reins of the baseball program following the 2002 season to serve as director of football operations until he was hired as head football coach. He continues his teaching duties as assistant professor in the health, physical education and recreation department.

A native of Albany, Ohio, Brooks was a four-sport athlete in high school (football, basketball, baseball and track), lettering 16 times. Following his senior year, he was named All-Ohio in football and MVP of his team. On top of that, he was valedictorian of his graduating class.

Brooks and his wife, Carol, reside in Bluffton with their two sons, Matthew and Adam. He is also a proud grandfather to three-year-old Victoria.

Defensive coordinator Allen Curtiss is now in his 20th season at Bluffton University. He also serves as the linebackers coach and football recruiter for the Beavers.

For four out of the past eight years he has guided the Bluffton defense to a No. 2 ranking in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference in both pass defense and total defense.

In 2000, Curtiss led the Bluffton defensive unit to three shutout victories on their way to an HCAC co-championship. It marked just the fifth time in Bluffton history that the defense had totaled three shutouts in the same season.

After coaching the defensive line from 1988 through 1999, Curtiss took over the linebacking corps in the 2000 season and has produced a first-team All-HCAC linebacker the last seven seasons—Greg Ditz in 2000, Chris Sommers from 2001-03, Scott Steiner in 2004, and Sam McCullough in 2005 and 2006.

Coach Curtiss lives in Findlay with his wife, Phyllis, son, Eric, and daughter, Carrie.

Now in his 19th season on the Bluffton University football staff, Denny Phillips coaches the defensive secondary while serving as Bluffton’s strength and conditioning coach.

The Beaver defense has been ranked second in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference for three out of the last six years and was third in total defense during the 2004 campaign. He has produced at least one All-HCAC defensive back in six of the last seven years, including first team cornerback Jeremy Anderson in 2005 and 2006.

A native of Castalia, Ohio, Phillips earned Associated Press All-America honors in track at Margaretta High School before coming to Bluffton, where he lettered in track and basketball. He was the Bluffton University head track coach in the early 1990s, leading his teams to three conference titles in the Association of Mideast Colleges. His football coaching experience includes tenures at Lima, Perry and Leipsic high schools.

He teaches elementary health and physical education in the Bluffton public school system.

Coach Phillips lives in Bluffton with his wife, Kaye, and sons, Adam and Justin.

Steve Rogers enters his third season as an assistant coach for the Bluffton University football team and weight room supervisor for the Beavers. After one year on the defensive line, Rogers served as the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in 2006.

2007 will mark Rogers’ 15th year as a football coach and 14th on the collegiate level. He started his coaching career at Mt. Union College as a student assistant in 1993. Following one season at his alma mater, he served at Defiance College for two years as the offensive line coach. Rogers then went to Arizona Western College as a defensive coordinator. He recently filled the defensive coordinator position at MacMurray College from 1999-2001, 2003-04.

Rogers was a standout defensive back at Mt. Union. He was All-Ohio Athletic Conference and All-American as a Purple Raider. Rogers received his bachelor’s degree at Mt. Union and continued his education at Defiance where he received his master’s in 1995.

Coach Rogers resides in Bluffton with his wife, Donnell, and son, Jack.

In his second season as an assistant coach for the Bluffton University football team, Brent Burkheimer helped lead the Beavers to a 3-7 (2-5 HCAC) finish in 2006 while serving as the wide receivers coach.

Burkheimer will be in his tenth year as a football coach and third year on the collegiate level. Most recently, he was an assistant coach (offense) for Lima Senior high school. Prior to that position, he was the head coach for Paulding High School in 2002. Burkheimer played for Ohio Northern University as a middle linebacker and graduated in 1993.  

Coach Burkheimer completed his master’s degree at Bowling Green State University in 1999.

Bill Fisher returns for his second year as an assistant coach for the Bluffton University football team. Fisher served as a student assistant coach of the defensive backs and punt returners in 2004. He will lead the running backs during the 2007 season.

Graduating from Clay High School in 2000, Fisher ran track and received all-league honors in football. He continued his football career with the Beavers from 2000-2003, where he lettered four years and received All-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference recognition his senior year. He graduated in 2005 with a degree in mathematics.

In addition to coaching, Fisher is pursuing his teaching licensure at Bluffton University.

Coach Fisher resides in Bluffton.

Bryan Lloyd enters his first season as the defensive line coach for the Beavers. Lloyd played defensive tackle for Bluffton and graduated in 2007. He was selected to the All-HCAC second team his last two years after being named honorable mention All-HCAC following his freshman and sophomore seasons.

Lloyd graduated from Bath High School in 2002 and garnered all-league honors in both football and wrestling. After graduation, Lloyd attended the University of Findlay for a year before transferring to Bluffton and joining the football team in 2003.

Lloyd graduated from Bluffton University in 2007 with a degree in sports management. In addition to coaching, he is currently working at the Bluffton Family Recreation Center.

Coach Lloyd currently resides in Bluffton