By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
Missouri Western State University is set to hire Southeastern Oklahoma State head coach and former Missouri Western offensive coordinator Tyler Fenwick as the next head football coach.
A University source confirmed the news to KFEQ Radio and St. Joseph Post on Tuesday afternoon.
Fenwick, the 2021 Great American Conference Coach of the Year, and 2018 Great Lakes Valley Coach of the Year, was MWSU's offensive coordinator from 2007-2012 before becoming the head man at Missouri S&T from 2013-2018.
He'd been at Southeastern Oklahoma State since 2019.
Fenwick was part of a Missouri Western program that played in the postseason in all six seasons while he was on coach Jerry Partridge's staff, including a berth in the NCAA quarterfinals in 2012.
That 2012 team was enshrined into the Missouri Western Athletic Hall of Fame this past October.
The Griffons averaged 35.1 points per game while Fenwick was the O-coordinator. The Griffons made the playoffs three times and had three bowl appearances from 2007-2012 as well. The Griffons' record during that time was a combined 53-18.
Fenwick's turnaround of programs has been impressive. He led Missouri S&T to a 10-2 record in 2018 after going 5-6 two years prior.
He took a one win Southeastern Oklahoma State team in 2019 and turned them into a 9-3 squad in 2021. That team beat Emporia State in the Live United Bowl at the end of the season.
As a head coach, Fenwick's record is 53-48. He was 37-29 at Missouri S&T from 2013-2018, and 16-19 at SEOSU from 2019-2022.
The Savage Storm, like MWSU, played two unofficial games in 2020. One of those was a 12-9 win over Emporia State in the spring of 2021 in a scrimmage.
Fenwick will be introduced to the media and the public on Thursday in St. Joseph during a press conference at the Griffon Indoor Sports Complex at 1:30.
This ends a three-week search by the University after the dismissal of Matt Williamson as head coach.
Williamson concluded his tenure with a 31-26 record, and a 29-26 mark in MIAA play. He was fired the day after the Griffons beat Lincoln 41-0 on November 12 to conclude the 2022 season.
Williamson led the Griffons to Live United Bowl victories in 2018 and '19, peaking with a 9-3 record in 2019.
During Williamson's time, Missouri Western never made the playoffs and were 2-11 against ranked opponents.
You can follow Tommy om Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.