By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
Tyler Fenwick made memories to last a lifetime during his six years as the Missouri Western football team's offensive coordinator from 2007-2012.
Not only did the Griffons go a combined 53-18 during that time and average 35.1 points per game in the process, but Fenwick developed lasting relationships with players, alums and community members.
Relationships that would ultimately, a decade later, pave his road back to St. Joseph as the seventh head coach in Missouri Western football history.
He credits his old boss, former Missouri Western head coach Jerry Partridge, for making it possible.
"He gave me the opportunity to run the offense here," Fenwick said Thursday at his introductory press conference at the Griffon Indoor Sports Complex.
"He allowed me to coach his son (quarterback Travis Partridge). We had a lot of success here and a lot of fun and the staff we had here, they're memories you don't forget."
Missouri Western athletic director Andy Carter made the announcement on November 13, one day after the 2022 season ended, that there would be a change in leadership for Griffon football.
Over a span of just 24 days, Carter worked with Russell Wright and Collegiate Consulting to navigate through a field of over 100 candidates who applied.
On Thanksgiving night, Carter narrowed the field from 100 candidates to 11. By the evening of Black Friday, that list was narrowed to seven.
The more he heard from and heard about Tyler Fenwick, the more convinced Carter was that Missouri Western found their guy. Fenwick was announced the Griffons' head coach on December 6.
"A real kicker on the back end of this was that he had been here before," Carter said. "He had seen us have success and had been a part of that success. He's tied into the alums. That wasn't the primary part of this, but that put it over the top for me. The candidate pool was crazy good."
For Fenwick, who coached Southeastern Oklahoma State in the Live United Bowl this past Saturday, the process of accepting the job and getting to his introductory press conference all culminated in less than a week's time.
"It was like, 'Hey, do you want the job? Yes, I want the job. Okay, be here tomorrow, let's get this going,'" Fenwick explained. "We drove up here (Wednesday) night, and lo and behold with three kids, we had to go to Target to make sure we got some pants."
Fenwick has accumulated 10 years of head coaching experience since leaving Missouri Western in 2012. He was the head coach of Division II Missouri S&T in Rolla from 2013-2018.
Taking over a Miners program that had just five winning seasons from 1986-2012, Fenwick led S&T to a 10-2 season in 2018 and took the program to just its second bowl game appearance in history.
That season earned him the honor of Great Lakes Valley Conference Coach of the Year.
In 2019, Fenwick took the head coaching job at Southeastern Oklahoma State - a DII school in the Great American Conference.
After a 1-10 record in '19, and after COVID-19 canceled the 2020 season, a combined 31 starters and second string players stayed and helped Fenwick lead the Savage Storm to a 9-3 finish and a Live United Bowl victory over Emporia State in 2021.
That season earned him the honor of Great American Conference Coach of the Year.
"I've been a head coach now for 10 years," Fenwick said. "Which seems like it's flown by. Doesn't feel like it's been that long. I've been a head coach now at two different institutions. Both great places and both allowed me to be who I am."
Fenwick inherits a Missouri Western team coming off of a 5-6 season in 2022 - the Griffons' first losing season since 2017. He inherits a roster of 93 total players, though numerous Griffons have since entered the transfer portal, including sophomore running back and last year's MIAA Freshman of the Year Brandon Hall.
More over, Missouri Western football hasn't been to the playoffs since 2012 - Fenwick's last year as offensive coordinator. While it's hard to know exactly when the Griffons will get back to that point, Fenwick took this job to fully embrace that challenge, going against a stout MIAA conference.
"I've got to make sure I put the surrounding people around me and have the roster so we can compete with the big dogs in the MIAA," Fenwick said. "It's a tough conference. Every week is a tough week. That's why we get into coaching. That's the challenge and competition of it."
Missouri Western football is a member of perhaps the best DII conference in the nation with top notch facilities. Its campus, 50 minutes north of Kansas City, has been the host of Kansas City Chiefs training camp for over a decade.
The location, revenue, resources and passion are all there. Now, Fenwick hopes to unleash the program's potential, and lead the Griffons back to where they haven't been since he left in 2012 - competing for an MIAA title. Getting into the playoffs. Winning playoff games.
"It's going to come down to building a culture and staff and development system and coaching these guys up to let them be successful," Fenwick said.
"I can tell you the team we put on the field in September is going to be a physical football team, a fast football team and a disciplined football team. All of those things, that's a process you have to go through."
Other news and notes
Carter confirmed that co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Patrick St. Louis was retained and helped run the recruiting and day-to-day activities of the program.
Graduate assistants Dalton Franks, Clay Marshall, Bryce Bailey and Ace Ventura also stayed back to help with those things. The shape of the future staff, Carter says, will be up to Fenwick.
"He loves the program and is an alum," Carter said of coach St. Louis. "He's done a fantastic job for us and keeping things on the rails and moving forward and communicating with our recruits and student-athletes. At the end of the day, coach Fenwick will decide who's on staff."
Fenwick had his first team meeting on Thursday afternoon following the press conference.
Fenwick's record as a head coach 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.
AUDIO
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.