Interim Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator Bob Pagel
Phone: (507) 222-7131
Email: bpagel@carleton.edu

Bob Pagel took over the reigns of the Carleton program on Jan. 6, 2012 when he was appointed interim head football coach through the end of the 2012 season. Pagel, who completed his seventh season on Knights staff this past fall, is the 17th head coach in Carleton football history and takes over for Kurt Ramler, who resigned on Jan. 5.

Pagel served as the Knights’ special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach during the 2004, 2006 and 2007 campaigns. He implemented the coverage schemes for a defense that finished eighth in the nation in takeaways during the 2006 schedule. Pagel was promoted to defensive coordinator in Spring 2008, and that fall the Knights posted a 7-3 record, their most successful season in 16 years. He added associate head coach duties for the 2010 campaign.

Prior to joining the staff at Carleton, Pagel spent five years at the University of Minnesota-Duluth (UMD), serving as the Bulldogs’ recruiting coordinator and defensive backs coach. He helped orchestrate UMD’s nationally-ranked defense as the team garnered their only bowl game bid in 2001 and earned their first berth in the NCAA Division II Playoffs in 2002.

A two-time all-conference player and 1992 graduate of Wartburg College (Iowa), Pagel worked under current UMD head coach Bob Nielson for three years at Wartburg and two seasons at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. While at Wartburg, Pagel worked with a defense that helped the Knights go 27-3 and make a pair of national playoff appearances. He spent the 1998 campaign at St. Cloud State University as a graduate assistant coach before rejoining Nielson at UMD for the 1999-2003 seasons.

A native of Eyota, Minn., and graduate of Dover-Eyota High School, Pagel received a B.A. degree in business from Wartburg and holds a master's degree in sports management from St. Cloud State. He resides in nearby Nerstand, Minn., with his wife, Chaz, and the couple’s three children, Mason (8), Ella (5), and Wyatt (11 months).

 

 

 

Assistant Coach Dick Tressel  (Offensive Coordinator)
Phone: (507) 222-4054
Email: TBA

Tressel joined the Knights in March 2012 after spending the last 11 years at Ohio State University, including the last eight as the Buckeyes’ running backs coach. The Knights’ offensive coordinator, he is no stranger to the MIAC after serving as the head coach at Hamline University for 23 seasons, earning Football News Coach-of-the-Year honors in 1984. Tressel joined the Ohio State football staff in 2001 as associate director of football operations and returned to on-field coaching in 2004, taking over the direction of the Buckeyes running back corps. Prior to the 2011 season, he added the role of special teams coordinator to his list of duties, and the Buckeyes ranked 15th in the nation in kickoff returns. He graduated from Baldwin-Wallace College in 1970 with a degree in physical education. He received his master's from Florida State University in 1976 and his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1996. 

 

 

 

Assistant Coach Dennis Ziegler (Linebackers and Special Teams)
Phone: (507) 222-7143
E-mail: dziegler@carleton.edu

Denny Ziegler joined the Knights' staff prior to the 2011 campaign and serves as the linebackers coach and special teams coordinator. A three-time letterwinner at defensive back for Otterbein College, he moved right from the playing field into the coaching ranks after graduating in June 2005. During the 2005 and 2006 seasons, Ziegler was a graduate assistant at Marietta College where he coached outside linebackers and defensive backs. He then headed west to Valley City State University as defensive backs coach and head strength coach in 2007. After one season in North Dakota, Ziegler returned to his home state of Ohio as he accepted a position at Kenyon College, where he coached the linebackers, coordinated special-teams, and served as an assistant baseball coach.

 

 

 

Assistant Coach Tom Bell (Running Backs)
Tom Bell, a longtime successful high school coach and physical education teacher, was honored during the 1999-2000 school year as "Teacher of the Year" in the Montgomery/Lonsdale school district, where he was head football coach for 19 seasons. Bell is a 1971 graduate of Moorhead State University where he was a four-year letterwinner.

 

 

 

 

 

Assistant Coach Dave Faust  (Offensive Line)
Phone: TBA
Email: TBA

After coaching football for the last 35 years, Dave Faust joins the Knights’ staff in 2012 as the offensive line coach. Faust served as the head coach from 1990-98 at Henry Sibley high school before moving to a position of the Hamline University staff. From 1999-2000 he coached special teams and tight ends before moving to offensive line for the next three years. After his stint at Hamline, Faust returned to Henry Sibley to be the special teams coordinator. At the high school he is also the chair of the physical education and health department. Faust received his undergraduate and master’s degree at Northern State University in 1982 and 1983, respectively.

 

 

 

Assistant Coach Dexter General  (Tight Ends)
Phone: TBA
Email: TBA

Dexter General joins the coaching staff in 2012 after coaching or playing football for over twenty years. After a successful playing career at Winona State University, General played in the Arena League for the Iowa Barnstormers and then travelled overseas to play for the Vienna Vikings and Barcelona Dragons. General also brings NFL experience to Carleton after playing on the practice squads for both the New York Jets and the Minnesota Vikings in 1996 and 1998, respectively. Since moving to the sidelines, he has coached running backs and linebackers at Rochester Community and Technical College before moving to Century High School to serve as the running backs coach and assistant offensive coordinator. Most recently, General was part of the Hamline University coaching staff in 2011 as the wide receivers coach.

 

 

 

Assistant Coach James Kilian  (Wide Receivers)
Phone: TBA
Email: TBA

A former NFL draft pick, James Kilian comes to Carleton to coach the wide receivers in 2012. Kilian played quarterback at Tulsa University from 2000-2004 where he was named second team all-conference in 2003. After concluding his collegiate career, Kilian was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the seventh round of the NFL draft in 2005. Over the course of his professional career, Kilian has played for the Chiefs, Atlanta Falcons, Hamburg Sea Devils (Europe), Nashville Kats (AFL), and Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL). He has since been a graduate assistant coach at Tulsa where he was named quarterbacks coach. For the 2011 season, Kilian assisted with the running backs at Louisiana State University who played in the National Championship.

 

 

 

Assistant Coach John Kunelius  (Defensive Backs)
Phone: TBA
Email: TBA

John Kunelius comes to Carleton in 2012 to coach the defensive backs. After winning a state title at Waterville Elysian Morristown High School, Kunelius played collegiately at Southwest Minnesota State University where he graduated in 2007. Kunelius then had a short stint at the Minnesota Vikings’ rookie mini-camp as an outside linebacker. For the last two seasons, he has served as the defensive backs and scheme coach at Montgomery Lonsdale high school. He is also currently working towards his graduate degree in educational leadership at St. Mary’s University.

 

 

 

Assistant Coach William Livingston  (Defensive Line/Strength and Conditioning)
Phone: TBA
Email: TBA

William Livingston comes to the Knights’ staff in 2012 as the defensive line and strength and conditioning coach. Most recently, Livingston served as the special teams coordinator and running backs coach at Hiram College in 2011. He also coached at Otterbein University for eight years from 2003-2010 where he was responsible for a multitude of coaching responsibilities, such as defensive line, special teams, running backs, and wide receivers. Livingston is a former Marine who earned the rank of Corporal and was honorably discharged in 1984. In 1978, he was selected as the recipient of the Leatherneck Award. Livingston achieved a bachelor of arts from Mount Vernon Nazarene University in 1999 and earned a MBA in 2011 from Otterbein.