Longtime assistant Eric Eidsness has been promoted to associate head coach, South Dakota State University head football coach John Stiegelmeier has announced.
“I am excited that Coach Eidsness will be taking on an expanded role within our coaching staff,” Stiegelmeier said. “Coach Eidsness has been with the Jackrabbits for a total of 13 years and not only knows Jackrabbit football, but he also knows South Dakota State Unviersity. With the addition to his title comes administrative duties that help our program move in the correct direction.
Eidsness, who will continue to serve as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, has been an assistant under Stiegelmeier on three different occasions. His first stint was as a graduate assistant during the 1996 and 1997 seasons, coaching the team’s receivers. After a season at Ferris State (Mich.), he returned to SDSU as offensive coordinator in 1999 and directed the team’s offense to an average of 27.6 points per game over five seasons.
A Sioux Falls native, Eidsness left SDSU after the 2003 season to become head coach at Southwest Minnesota State University, where he compiled a 26-40 overall record. His 2008 squad posted a 6-5 record for only the eighth winning season in program history.
Eidsness rejoined the Jackrabbit coaching staff in 2010 as quarterbacks coach and was elevated to offensive coordinator following the 2011 season. The Jackrabbits have posted prolific numbers in both the running and passing games en route to three consecutive playoff berths (2012-14), including tallying school-record totals of 3,612 passing yards and 6,092 yards of total offense over a 14-game schedule last season.
