Paul Winters (American football)

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Paul Winters
Biographical details
Born (1958-09-08) September 8, 1958 (age 65)
Playing career
1976–1979Akron
Position(s)Running back
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1982–1983Akron (GA)
1984–1985Akron (backfield)
1986–1989Toledo (off. backs)
1990Wisconsin (RB)
1991Wisconsin (TE)
1992–1994Wisconsin (compliance)
1995–2003Akron (OC/RB)
2004–2022Wayne State (MI)
Head coaching record
Overall94–105
Tournaments4–1 (NCAA D-II playoffs)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1 GLIAC South Division (2010)
Awards
AFCA NCAA Division II COY (2011)
3× GLIAC Coach of the Year (2006, 2008, 2019)

Paul Winters (born October 3, 1958) is an American college football coach and former player. He was the head football coach at Wayne State University from 2004 until 2022.[1] Winters played college football at the University of Akron as a running back from 1976 to 1979.[1]

Biography[edit]

Playing career[edit]

Winters played high school football at St. Vincent–St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio where he became a local prep star.[1][2][3] He continued his career at the University of Akron (1976–1979) where he played the running back position.[1] Winters finished his career seventh on the University of Akron's all-time leading rusher list with 2,613 yards.[1][2][4] In 1989, Paul Winters was inducted into the University of Akron Sports Hall of Fame.[5]

Coaching career[edit]

In 1982, Winters began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant as his alma mater.[1] He worked up the coaching ranks at Akron as an offensive backs coach until 1986 when he accepted the running backs coaching position at the University of Toledo. He moved on to the University of Wisconsin in 1990.[1] Winters returned to Akron in 1995 as the offensive coordinator and running backs coach.

Wayne State[edit]

Winters accepted his first head coaching position on December 13, 2003, at Wayne State University.[1] In his 10th season as head coach, Winters holds the school's overall record in wins with an overall record of 53 wins to 48 losses.[1] Also, in 2011, Winters coached the school's single-season wins record team to 12 wins and a playoff berth.[1] The 2011 team was the NCAA Division II runner-up after a loss to Pittsburg State in the National Championship game.[1][3][4][6] After the 2011 season, Winters declined a job offer to return to the University of Akron as the head coach, instead choosing to sign an extension at Wayne State through 2016.[6]

Honors[edit]

  • NCAA Division II Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association (2011)[1]
  • 2008 Expert Coaches Academy participant[1]
  • GLIAC Coach of the Year (2006, 2008, 2019)[1]

In 2004, Paul Winters was regarded as one of the nation's top ten African-American football coaching candidates by the Black Coaches Association.[1] On multiple occasions Winters has been recognized for his achievements as an ethnic minority football coach.[6][7]

Head coaching record[edit]

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs AFCA#
Wayne State Warriors (Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (2004–2022)
2004 Wayne State 1–9 1–9 13th
2005 Wayne State 3–7 3–7 T–9th
2006 Wayne State 6–5 6–4 T–4th
2007 Wayne State 3–8 2–8 13th
2008 Wayne State 8–3 7–3 T–3rd
2009 Wayne State 6–5 5–5 8th
2010 Wayne State 9–2 8–2 T–1st (South) 21
2011 Wayne State 12–4 7–3 2nd (South) L NCAA Division II Championship 2
2012 Wayne State 5–5 5–5 6th (North)
2013 Wayne State 3–8 3–7 T–6th (North)
2014 Wayne State 7–4 6–4 3rd (North)
2015 Wayne State 6–5 5–5 T–4th (North)
2016 Wayne State 7–4 7–4 3rd (North)
2017 Wayne State 5–6 4–5 6th
2018 Wayne State 2–9 1–7 T–8th
2019 Wayne State 8–3 7–1 2nd
2020–21 Did not play due to COVID-19
2021 Wayne State 2–9 2–5 T–5th
2022 Wayne State 1–9 0–6 7th
Wayne State: 94–105 79–90
Total: 94–105
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Paul Winters - Football Coach". Wayne State University Athletics. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
  2. ^ a b Alex, Elton; er; Dealer, The Plain (2011-12-19). "Wayne State coach Paul Winters turns down chance to be Akron Zips' football coach". cleveland. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
  3. ^ a b Gerstner, Joanne C. "Division II’s Football Cinderella: Wayne State." Nytimes.com. N.p., 12 Dec. 2011. Web. 14 Sept. 2013. <http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/12/division-iis-football-cinderella-wayne-state/?_r=0>
  4. ^ a b "Detroit News Article on Paul Winters". Wayne State University Athletics. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
  5. ^ "The University of Akron – Sports Hall of Fame." : Akron Athletics. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2013. <http://www.gozips.com/athletics/development/varsitya/hall_of_fame>.
  6. ^ a b c "ESPN News Wire - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
  7. ^ "National Collegiate Athletic Association - Press Release Archive". fs.ncaa.org. Retrieved 2022-07-21.

External links[edit]

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