Wilson elevated to Head Football Coach

DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Defiance College Athletic Department has announced that Earnest Wilson will assume the position of Head Football Coach after holding the position on an interim basis during the 2021 season.

"We look forward to having Coach Wilson as the Head Coach of our Football program," said Defiance Athletic Director Derek Woodley. "He has a tremendous amount of experience and has been successful at multiple levels. He understands the value of developing the whole student-athlete and we think he can provide a path for improvement for our program."

During the 2021 season Coach Wilson guided the Yellow Jackets to a 1-9 record, highlighted by an upset victory over Mount St. Joseph, who at the time was the top team in the conference. The Yellow Jackets had seven players named All-HCAC including First Team selection Thomas Coltrain. He also recently had three of his student-athletes be named to the Tom Bohlsen Academic All-HCAC team for the 2021 fall campaign.

"First, I would like to thank President Mankey and Athletic Director Derek Woodley for giving me this opportunity," said Wilson. "Next, I would like to thank the players, coaches, community as well as the school for being here for us through this transition. The other coaches, the players, and I will put forth full effort to develop a great college football program in Northwest Ohio."

Wilson previously served as associate head coach and superbacks coach at Defiance from 2018 until stepping into the interim head coach role this August. 

Wilson served as head football coach at Elizabeth City State University from 2015-18 and Savannah State University from 2013-15.  While at ECSU Wilson was named CIAA Coach of the Year after leading the Vikings to the conference playoffs in 2016. While leading the program he also coached two NCAA Division II All-Americans, two HBCU All-Americans, and six all-conference players. 

In 2012, he served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Hampton University. While there, he helped lead the Pirates' offense to be among the best in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

Wilson has also held coaching positions at Jackson State University, Alabama A&M, New Mexico State University, the University of Maine, and Allegheny College where he served on a staff that won the 1990 NCAA Division III national championship. While at JSU he served as offensive coordinator for a team that led the nation in total offense averaging almost 500 yards a game and had the 9th highest-scoring offense in the nation and averaged 35 points per game.

In addition to his collegiate experience, Wilson has coached in various indoor and arena football leagues. Most recently Wilson was a member of the coaching staff for The Lineman in the Spring League, a premier professional football development league. In this role, Wilson recruited the players for the team, helped coordinate the special teams, and coached the team's defensive backs while also assisting with developing game plans.  

Wilson played football while receiving both his graduate and undergraduate degrees from Texas Tech University. He earned a Bachelor of Science in recreation in 1989 and a Master of Education in sports administration a year later.