Nate Milne seeing success as Muhlenberg football coach
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (BVM) — After serving as offensive coordinator for three seasons, Nate Milne was given the head coach position for the Muhlenberg Mules football team.
Milne arrived at Muhlenberg in 2015 with 15 years of playing and coaching Division III football under his belt. He served as the Mules’ offensive coordinator and offensive lines coach through the 2017 season. In those three seasons, the Mules landed a 25-8 record, compiling 428 yards and 33.3 points per game. Their 2016 team happened to have one of the program’s best offenses, ranking 17th in Division III in the scoring category, and breaking many school scoring and yardage records.
In 2018, Milne replaced the late Mike Donnelly as the new head coach of the Muhlenberg football team. Donnelly was the winningest football coach in Muhlenberg history with a record of 140-74 in 20 seasons. Having been under the wing of Donnelly for three years, Milne was looking to continue Donnelly’s greatness for Muhlenberg.
It did not take very long for the Mules to get going with their new leader. In his first season as head coach, Milne led the Mules to one of their best seasons ever, guiding them to an 11-2 record. This tied the Mules’ record for single-season wins in the program’s history and also advanced them to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III tournament for the first time. They also were ranked inside the top 10 in both Division III polls. Milne became only the second coach in the history of the Centennial Conference to lead their team to a championship in their first season. Both the Centennial Conference and the Eastern College Athletic Conference named him coach of the year. In just one season, Milne already seemed to be the perfect fit for what the Mules needed.
The 2019 season was more of the same but even better for Milne and the Mules as they finished their regular season with a 13-0 record and the program’s first-ever trip to the Division III semifinals. The Mules broke their 2018 season average points per game record of 33.3 with an average of 40.2. The American Football Coaches Association named him coach of the year for NCAA Division III.
Milne was making a name for himself very quickly at Muhlenberg. His goal of trying to follow in Mike Donnelly’s footsteps was becoming a reality. Senior wide receiver Sean Jansson said Coach Donnelly was his biggest inspiration and Coach Milne basically took all of Coach Donnelly’s ideas and put it into how he coached and did his own version.
“He’ll bring up Coach Donnelly every other meeting just because he had great strategies of unity in order to unite the team,” Jansson said. “I think that’s what makes us a better program and got us such a great record.”
Along with his great love for the game and smart tactics, a big factor in Milne’s success is his close connection with his players.
“He’s much more of a player’s coach as he’s more concerned with forming relationships with his players than coaches I’ve had in the past where I felt I was not nearly as close with them”, senior running back Cole Draghi said.
“He cares about you more on a personal level than he does with how you’re competing on the field,” Jansson added. “He’ll check up with you in the offseason every once in a while and he’ll also crack jokes with you and be one of the guys, which makes him a much more likable coach and enjoyable one to be around.”
With the 2020 season being canceled due to COVID, Milne and the Mules look forward to continuing their high-level performance in the fall of 2021.
