When Minnesota Duluth football coach Curt Wiese learned offensive coordinator Noah Pauley was taking an assistant coaching position at North Dakota State in January, the first person Wiese called was Chase Vogler.
"I was excited, obviously," said the 28-year-old Vogler, who has replaced Pauley as UMD's offensive coordinator. "This is a place that I always wanted to get back to, so it's pretty cool that it all came to fruition."
Vogler, a record-setting quarterback for UMD from 2009-12, isn't the only new addition on UMD's coaching carousel as the Bulldogs appear to be getting the band back together.
Former Duluth Central and UMD standout Garth Heikkinen is helping with the offensive line, and former star receiver Jason Balts is on board as a graduate assistant working with the running backs.
Assistant coach Trey Dill, meanwhile, was promoted to defensive coordinator, replacing John Steger.
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Steger, the dean of the Bulldogs' coaching staff, completed his 18th season as UMD's defensive coordinator last fall (1999-2009 and 2012-18) by being named NSIC Assistant Coach of the Year after the Bulldogs led NCAA Division II in total defense (205.7 yards per game), rushing defense (59.2 ypg) and third-down conversion defense (22.5 percent).
"John was ready," Wiese said. "He came to me about a year ago and said he was ready to hand it over to Trey, and he was excited to do that. He came to me again at the end of last season and said, 'It's time. I'm tired and Trey's ready.' "
Steger will remain on staff as associate head coach, but it will be a less demanding workload and less pressure.
Steger, on crutches after having surgery for a leg injury two weeks ago, has been using a golf cart to get around in spring practice.
Dill will be making the defensive calls on game day - just like Vogler on offense - and will be tasked with organizing practice and making sure everyone understands the game plan.
"This isn't just changing titles," Wiese said. "Trey is our defensive coordinator, so he's going to take over. Trey is fortunate, and so is John, in that those guys have worked together and been an integral part of what we've done defensively over the last eight years. Trey is the voice in that room; he's the voice of the defense."
Dill, who played college football for his hometown St. Cloud State, served as UMD's defensive line coach from 2011-18. He now will oversee the entire unit. While Steger will continue to watch games from the coaches' booth, which helps in determining coverages, Dill, 33, will man the sideline.
"We have different coaching styles and personalities, but I've been around John and have learned a lot from him, so you'll probably see a lot of similarities," Dill said. "I'm excited to have this new role, and I'm excited to work with some new position groups. John will be a guy I can lean on, a resource I can always go to. Nobody wants to see me succeed more than he does."
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Vogler, of Inver Grove Heights, Minn., was a playmaker in four seasons as UMD's starting quarterback. He went 46-6 as a starter, including 7-3 in the postseason as he led the Bulldogs to their second national championship in 2010. He ranks first in program history in pass-completion percentage (63.2 percent), third in total offense (10,486 yards), fourth in passing yards (7,583) and eighth in rushing yards (2,903).
"I like Chase Vogler," UMD quarterback John Larson said. "Talk about a guy who knows his stuff. He's hung up a natty (national championship) here, so he knows what he's doing, for sure. As a former quarterback, he knows exactly what we're seeing in this offense. He's a young guy who understands everything you're going through because he's been through it personally. It's the best situation you could ask for."
After his college career, Vogler had playing and coaching stints with Germany's Bielefeld Bulldogs before returning to UMD as a volunteer assistant coach in 2013. He was a graduate assistant at Western Illinois before being hired as Wisconsin-Stout's game coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2014.
"That was a big learning curve for me, to be that young and kind of thrown into the fire," Vogler said.
Two years later, Vogler was promoted to Stout's offensive coordinator.
"I basically knew halfway through my sophomore year of college that I wanted to get into coaching," Vogler said. "Coach Wiese made a big influence on me when I was sitting in that meeting room my four years, and now I get to do football for a job. Every day, it's football. It's a pretty lucky opportunity."
Vogler said he talked football with Wiese, his mentor, just about every week while keeping tabs on the Bulldogs during his time at Stout.
Vogler earned a criminology degree from UMD, but said an office job was never for him.
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"This is my dream job," Vogler said. "I have a lot of friends who make a lot more money than I do but work in a cubicle. That's just not my lifestyle. I like meeting with our guys daily, to be on the road recruiting, to be out on the practice field, just kind of on the go. The hours sometimes get ridiculous, but you signed up for it and knew exactly what you were getting yourself into. This is exactly what I want to do."
