Joe Davis said one reason he found the head football coach position at Western Illinois University attractive is the program’s history.
“There has been a tradition of excellence within the football program here,” said Davis, who was introduced Wednesday as the 32nd head coach in the 120-year history of WIU football.
Davis said over time, there have been excellent players, coaches, and teams at WIU. He’s looking to bring that back to a program that’s struggled in recent years.
“I want guys that want to be a Leatherneck. Period. And there are attributes to being a Leatherneck that we are going to search for when it comes to recruiting high school students and when it comes to recruiting the transfer portal,” he said.
Davis said everything he will do in the program will be based on “truth and love,” and that his leadership will be inspired by the examples of love he’s received in his life.
He cited the time his mother noticed a little bit of “pep in my step” after he started playing football at around age 10.
“The next day I came home from practice … she had checked out every single football book in the library, and they were all on our kitchen table, right there,” he said.
“‘Howie Long’s Football for Dummies.’ ‘Joe Montana’s Quarterbacking Manual.’ Everything. Because she saw how much I loved it, and she saw the people that I was around and she saw the experience I was starting to have. She loved me and she wanted to be part of it. I’ll never forget that.”
He said that foundation of love is something he wants his players to feel from him, even if they sometimes need a bit of tough love.
“When they need a hug, we’re going to hug them. And when my size 13s need to be up their tails, that’s going to happen too. That’s love. That’s what it’s all about,” he said.
“As a leader of young men, I want to be able to be honest with them at all times, even though they might not like the truth sometimes.”
Davis also said he will be “very patient” hiring a staff to ensure he selects coaches who are teachers and mentors.
Davis comes to WIU from Eastern Illinois University, where he was the offensive coordinator. He also coached the team’s quarterbacks.
This past season, Eastern’s offense ranked third in the Big South/Ohio Valley Alliance, which the WIU football program will join next season.
Director of Athletics Paul Bubb called the search process thorough. He said Davis is respected in the coaching profession, has a record of success, and is familiar with the conference WIU is joining.
“Joe Davis has all those qualities and more,” Bubb said.
Davis has also held coaching positions at the University of Albany, Fordham, Northern Iowa, Shippensburg, Wheaton, North Park, and Wayne State. He said he also played and coached in Europe and played in the Arena Football League.
Davis replaces Myers Hendrickson, who was fired after two consecutive winless seasons.
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