Jeff
Sokol
Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
Phone: (773) 702-9150
E-mail: jsokol@uchicago.edu |
 Jeff Sokol begins his 10th year overall and his seventh season as offensive coordinator at Chicago in 2009. Under Sokol, Chicago has ranked among the NCAA Division III top-30 in passing offense three times since 2001, including a #10 ranking during the 2002 campaign. Sokol has helped guide the Maroons to a pair of UAA championships (2000, 2005) and has twice been honored as a member of the UAA Coaching Staff of the Year. During Sokol’s tenure, Chicago has established six UAA offensive team records. Prior to his arrival at Chicago, Sokol served as defensive backs coach at UAA rival Case Western Reserve University (1999) and as wide receivers coach at Defiance College (1997-99). Sokol began his coaching career at his alma mater, Kalamazoo College, following his graduation in 1996. He spent two years as receivers coach after playing the position for the Hornets as an undergraduate. |
Kyle Sweeney
Defensive Coordinator/Secondary
Phone: (773) 702-5139
E-mail: ksweeney@uchicago.edu |
 Kyle Sweeney joined the Maroons' staff in July 2009. He comes to Chicago following a two-year stint as the head coach at MacMurray College. In 2008, he increased the Highlanders' victory total by four games and saw his team improve more than 140 spots in the NCAA Division III team rankings in three statistical categories. Before accepting the post at MacMurray, Sweeney spent four seasons (2002-06) on the staff at Endicott College, serving as defensive coordinator his final three years. Sweeney, who also served on the staffs at Occidental College (2001-02) and Illinois Wesleyan University (2000-01), holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Occidental College and a master's degree in health, physical education, and recreation from Illinois State University. As an undergraduate at Occidental he was a four-year starter at strong safety as well as a two-way starter (safety/receiver) his senior year. |
Dan Gritti
Linebackers/Special Teams
Phone: (773) 702-4637
E-mail: dgritti@uchicago.edu |
 Dan Gritti joined the staff in July 2009 after spending the previous four years as a defensive and special teams coach at Middlebury College. He helped guide the Panthers to their first winning season in six years in 2006, their first New England Small College Athletic Conference title in 15 years in 2007, and a school record-tying third straight winning season in 2008. As defensive line coach in 2007, Gritti helped engineer the third-rated scoring defense and fifth-ranked pass efficiency defense in the NCAA Division III. Gritti graduated from Vanderbilt University with a double major in political science and U.S. history in 1995 before earning a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1998. |
Trumane Bell
Tight Ends/Wide Receivers |
 Trumane Bell begins his third campaign at Chicago in 2009. Bell owns four years of Chicago area prep coaching experience, having served as an assistant varsity coach at Bremen High School (2005-07), Simeon Career Academy (2003), and Carver Military Academy (2002). Bell played three seasons for the University of Nebraska, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1993. He also played for the Amsterdam Admirals of the World League of American Football.
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Tony Hardie
Cornerbacks/Video |
 Tony Hardie starts his third year on the Chicago staff in 2009. Hardie, who coaches cornerbacks and coordinates video editing systems, is a 2007 graduate of Notre Dame. In his capacity as a student athletic manager at Notre Dame, Hardie helped organize practices for various teams and assisted with football equipment operations. |
Craig Knoche
Running Backs |
 Craig Knoche joined the Chicago staff in the spring of 2009. Knoche's previous coaching experience includes stints as a graduate assistant at the University of Wisconsin (2007-08), as a staff assistant at Stanford University (2006-07), and as a wide receivers coach at North Park University (2004-06). Knoche was a three-year letter winner at Illinois Wesleyan University, where he earned a degree in math and Spanish in 2002. He went on to earn a master's degree in math from the University of Illinois in 2006.
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Rob Tamillow
Defensive Line |
 One of the top defensive linemen in Chicago modern era history, Rob Tamillow returned to his alma mater to join the coaching staff in 2008. Tamillow, who coached the defensive line at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges in 2007 and at the University of LaVerne in 2006, capped his stellar career in 2005 as an All-American, Aztec Bowl participant, and UAA Defensive Player of the Year. Tamillow is the fourth player to have played for Head Coach Dick Maloney to return to the Midway to coach. He joins former All-American wide receiver Derrick Brooms, former captain and All-UAA tight-end, Adam Cushing, and John Carey, who anchored the offensive line to help the 1998 squad win Chicago's first ever UAA Football Crown. |
