Paul Schaffner Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach First year at NU: 2005 North Dakota State '92

Football 2007 •TEAM PAGE | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | TEAM STATS

Paul Schaffner begins his third season at Northeastern University and his second as the team’s defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach. An outstanding coach of the X’s and O’s, Schaffner has become noted for his ability to operate the 3-4 formation, which Northeastern implemented last season. In 2005, he came to the Huskies’ staff as the assistant head coach and linebackers coach. Under his guidance that season, linebackers Jamil Young and Joe Mele each received Atlantic 10 All-Conference honors. Schaffner now coordinates the entire defensive unit for the man that developed his football knowledge, as head coach Rocky Hager coached him while he played as an undergraduate at North Dakota State. He arrived in Boston after overseeing the defense for six years at the University of Mary, an NAIA school in Bismarck, N.D. His units were nationally ranked every season and twice finished as the best in the nation. For his efforts, he was named NAIA Defensive Coordinator of the Year by America Football Monthly in 1999 and 2003. Schaffner, now 37 years old, caught on with the Marauders after coaching two years at Dakota Athletic Conference-rival Jamestown College. He had similar success with the Jimmies, mentoring four All-Conference selections, including JJ Syvrud, a seventh-round draft pick of the New York Jets who enjoyed a three-year NFL career. In both seasons at Jamestown, the Jimmies were ranked among the top five teams in the nation. Prior to his arrival in Jamestown, Schaffner spent two-years as the linebackers and nickel backs coach at Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference member Northern Michigan. There, he yielded a trio of All-Conference picks, among them conference defensive player of the year Jovan Dewitt. Schaffner’s college coaching career began as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, North Dakota State, where he played under Hager from 1988-91. He helped lead his team to four conference titles and a pair of national championships. During his playing career, Schaffner set the school record for most assisted tackles in a game (21). Schaffner graduated from North Dakota Sate University in 1992 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education. Schaffner and his wife, Teresa, reside in Boston and have three children: Cassity (23), Jacoby (18) and Noah (5).