Football
Garrett Named NJAC Football Coach of the Year
POMONA, N.J. (11/21/06) - After guiding the Cougars to their first winning record in over a decade, Kean University Head Football Coach Dan Garrett has been named the New Jersey Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, as selected by the NJAC coaches and announced by the conference Tuesday afternoon.
In his first season at the helm of the program, Garrett led the Cougars to a 7-4 overall mark and their first post-season bid in 12 years. After being selected to finish eighth in the preseason poll, the Cougars finished the year fourth with a 4-3 mark in the NJAC, the most conference wins for the program since 1987 (5-1).
This season, Kean captured just its second Eastern College Athletic Conference title with a 37-0 shutout over King's College in the ECAC Southeast Bowl Championship. In the 37-year history of the program, the Cougars finished with a winning record for just the eighth time and first since the 1994 team finished 7-2-1 overall and won the school's first ECAC championship.
Just two years after ranking last in the NJAC in scoring offense, rushing offense and total offense, the Cougars led the conference in passing offense, rushing offense, total offense, pass efficiency and first downs, while also ranking second in scoring offense and scoring defense.
At just 32-years old, Garrett took over following three years as the Cougars' defensive coordinator, including the 2005 season when he was elevated to associate head coach. Widely acknowledged as one of the top young defensive minds in Division III football, Garrett is a veteran of 10 seasons on the sidelines in the rigorous NJAC.
The 12th head coach at Kean since the program's inception in 1970, Garrett places second behind former head coach and current director of athletics Glenn Hedden for the most wins for a first-year coach in school history (1987, 9-2).
It is the second straight coach of the year honor for Garrett, as he was named the American Football Coaches Association Division III Assistant Coach of the Year in 2005.
Immediately following a standout playing career at Montclair State University, during which he was a First Team All-NJAC selection at linebacker and defensive end in 1995 and 1996, Garrett was invited to join the staff of longtime MSU head coach Rick Giancola. In both of his first two seasons on the staff, the Red Hawks added two victories to their previous total, winning eight games and winning the Southeast championship of the ECAC playoffs in 1998.
The following year, Garrett received an even bigger opportunity when Giancola offered Garrett the chance to assume control of the defensive unit, an almost unheard of responsibility for someone of his age and relative experience. He eagerly accepted and became the youngest defensive coordinator in the NJAC at the tender age of 25.
Opposing offenses were quickly overwhelmed by the ferocity of his defense, which finished in the top five nationally in yards allowed in Garrett's first year and helped the Red Hawks to their first NJAC title in a decade, followed by an encore in 2000. In his first four years on the job, Garrett's unit finished the season ranked No. 1 in the NJAC in total defense.
Garrett took the defensive coordinator's position at Kean prior to the 2003 season, a move that paid immediate dividends for the Cougar program. Since his arrival, Kean's defensive units have been ranked among the NJAC and national leaders. In Garrett's first season, the Cougars ranked first in the NJAC in pass defense and were second in the conference and 21st in the nation in total defense. In 2005, Kean ranked 33rd in the country in rushing defense, while also finishing second in the conference in turnover margin.
During his 10-year coaching career, Garrett has mentored three NJAC Defensive Players of the Year, including Kean linebacker and 2004 honoree Steve Skakum.
Off the field, Garrett is active in the community, helping to organize book readings at local elementary schools as part of the National Education Association's Read Across America Day, celebrated annually on the birthday of beloved children's author Dr. Seuss. He also helps coordinate a pen pal program with 24 members of the Kean football team and students at Lyndhurst (N.J.) Elementary School.
Besides running a summer Pop Warner Youth Football Clinic in Shrewsbury Borough, N.J., Garrett also works with other youth league football teams in Watchung, N.J. In addition, he volunteers with the Wee Run Wild 5K race at Kean University, which benefits the Children's Museum of Central New Jersey, and along with six football players, teaches approximately 100 third grade students the sport of football each spring.
Garrett earned his bachelor of science degree in physical education in 1997 from Montclair State University. He and his wife Tammy reside in Tinton Falls, N.J., with their son Shane.