‘I’m proud to be here’ — Dayton introduces Andrews as head football coach

Dayton introduced Andrews two days after announcing his hiring and 15 days after Rick Chamberlin retired after a 14-year run as head coach. Chamberlin attended the press conference as did his predecessor Mike Kelly, who was the head coach when Andrews started at safety in the 1990s.

“A surreal moment for me right now,” Andrews said. “It’s humbling, because I’m following a couple of guys that I really looked up to. It’s emotional. I’m proud to be here.”

Andrews thanked Danielle in his opening comments.

“My wife is a true coach’s wife,” he said. “She’s unbelievable support for our family. When fall rolls around, they talk about the coaches’ wives as football widows, and it’s very true. She runs the show.”

Andrews spent the last four seasons at Western Michigan and got the job at Dayton less than two weeks after Broncos head coach Tim Lester was fired.

“We had a roller coaster for sure as to what happened at Western Michigan on Monday two weeks ago,” Andrews said, “and then a few days later, coach Chamberlin decides to retire after an unbelievable career and then Neil calling a few days later and then preparing for an interview in like two days. I have not slept much in the last two weeks. I’m running on fumes, but I haven’t been tired because I’m just so energized by the opportunity.”

This will be Andrews’ first head coaching job. He spent the majority of his career — 18 seasons in all — on the staff at William & Mary.

“I was ready to be a head football coach,” Andrews said. “I’d been prepared through work and through guys I’ve worked for that really helped me to get to that point. So I knew I was ready. Coach Chamberlin, you don’t know, he could have coached another 10 years here and done a tremendous job. So you just didn’t know when this job was going to open up, and it just happened that it opened up and I was ready to prepare to come down for it.”

Andrews is a 1998 UD graduate and the second straight UD graduate to get the job, following Chamberlin, but that wasn’t the main factor, Athletic Director Neil Sullivan said.

“Look, it has value, but we all know after the first five minutes and after the first couple of losses, it doesn’t matter,” Sullivan said, “so you can’t have that lens. The reality is he graduated in ‘98 and has been gone for 20-plus years and has had different experiences. The fact that he was an alum and understands what Dayton football is, it has value. It matters. It was a part of the criteria — someone who understood that. But it’s not relevant unless you’re good football coach.”

Andrews’ passion for UD was evident throughout the hiring process.

“We had numerous conversations and interviews,” Sullivan said, “and when I called him and said, ‘Are you ready to be the head football coach at the University of Dayton?’ he said, ‘Do you seriously have to ask me that?’”

While Andrews has not been to a UD game since graduation because of his coaching duties elsewhere, he has visited campus and introduced his family to Dayton. His kids were well aware of his Dayton background when he accepted the job and broke the news to them.

“My son Aiden disappeared while everybody was cheering,” Andrews said, “and he came downstairs five minutes later in my college football uniform with helmets and shoulder pads. So they know it’s special to me. It’s special to our family.”

Andrews takes over a program that finished 8-3 last season and loses its MVP, fifth-year running back Jake Chisholm. Andrews plans to get on the road recruiting right away.

“The contact period ends on Saturday,” Andrews said. “I can’t get everywhere right now, but we’re going to get to as many places we can go and then finalize our coaching staff. It’s very important to put together a great staff for our student athletes, that can really help them grow and develop, and then we’ll have a little break for the holidays. Then we’re looking at getting back on the recruiting trail. We have our coach’s convention coming up the first week of January and then January is going to be full speed ahead in recruiting with official visits. We’ll be rolling through January before we can catch our breath.”

Andrews said his goal is to have a team that’s fun to watch.

“If it’s fun to watch, it’ll be fun to play for,” he said. “You want offensive and defensive schemes that the kids enjoy so they can play fast and free. Everybody wants to see explosive plays and sacks, right? I want to see as many of those as we can see.”