Jeff Genyk - Football Coach - Eastern Michigan University Athletics

Louisiana

Sep 20 (Sat)

3:30 p.m.

Jeff Genyk

Title:
Head Coach

In four years as the head coach of the Eastern Michigan University football program, Jeff Genyk has worked his magic to take the Eagles from the bottom of the Mid-American Conference to a legitimate challenger for a league championship.

Genyk proved right from his first day on the job that he was the correct choice for the tough job of resurrecting the EMU program.

After a 10 a.m. press conference on Dec. 1, 2003 to announce his appointment as head coach, Genyk was in the Southfield home of prospective recruit Jason Jones to convince the young man to be part of the rebuilding process at EMU. Four years later Jones would go on to become one of the top defensive linemen in the entire country and was the 54th player chosen in the 2008 NFL draft.

That early recruiting success was a major first step in Genyk’s plan to restore the proud tradition of EMU football. He would go on to add many more pieces to the puzzle.

Consider that since he took over the head coaching reins in 2003, Genyk and his staff have directed EMU to the Michigan MAC title twice, in both 2004 and 2007; has seen the academic status of the Eagles improve from an A.P.R. rating of 858 to 927 overall with no loss of scholarships; developed a Leadership Council of players to assist in communication between the players and coaches and has helped the Eagles avoid any publicized off-field problems for 54 months; have recruited the region with 43 players from the state of Michigan and 23 from Ohio; have created a Player’s Lounge in the football team building to give the players their own recreation area; developed a Player Conduct Code that includes NFL Seminars, Police Ride-A-Long programs, and Gambling Seminars; and helped establish the Eastern Gridiron Group to encourage former players to invest in the future of EMU football to the tune of $650,000 raised in the past three seasons.

All of those initiatives have been major points of emphasis the last four years and their implementation has helped move the Eagles up the MAC ladder to the point that the 2007 campaign saw the Green and White record a third-place finish in the MAC West, their best finish since the league went to divisions in 1997.

All of that success over the past four seasons has proven that Genyk was indeed the right man to lead the Eastern Michigan University football team into the future.

In 2003, Genyk came highly touted as someone that would provide some needed excitement into the program to begin the resurgence of EMU football.

That first season saw the Eagles record a 4-4 MAC record, the best for EMU since the 1999 squad went 4-4.In addition, Genyk directed the Eagles to the Michigan Mid-American Conference championship that year with wins over both instate league rivals, Western Michigan and Central Michigan, for the first time since the 1986 season.

The 2005 season saw even more improvement as Genyk directed his Eagles to a 4-7 overall record and a 3-5 MAC mark.

However, that final 2005 record could just as easily have been 6-5 or even 7-4, as the Eagles dropped two one-point games, lost another by two points, and dropped a fourth by seven.

The 2006 season ended in a 1-11 mark, but the Eagles lost six games by less than five points a contest, including one overtime decision. Eastern also had leads in the fourth quarter against three MAC teams that made postseason bowls.

The 2007 season continued to show the upward trend of the program as the Eagles captured the Michigan MAC title with wins over Western Michigan and Central Michigan, finished third in the MAC West Division at 3-2, and also saw the Eagles average 36 points over their final three games of the season.

That continued improvement over the past four years has been accomplished with a wide-open offense that has put points on the board to go along with a defense that has steadily improved over that time span.

Add those improvements to the fact that in his first four recruiting classes, Genyk and his staff worked hard on reconnecting with Michigan high schools, particularly in the southeastern Michigan area, to give the Eagles a definite local and regional flavor, with 42 players from Michigan and 23 from Ohio on the 2008 roster.

"The Eastern Michigan University football job is extra special to me because it is an opportunity to come home and be a Division I-A head coach," Genyk said. "I was born in Ann Arbor and grew up in Milan and still have a large support system in the area. I spent 10 years in the business world, and 12 years as a football coach preparing for this opportunity. Everyone I met during the interview process had a passion and desire to have a successful program here at Eastern Michigan University and they are really ready to win."

Prior to accepting the EMU head coaching position, Genyk spent the previous 12 years at Northwestern University working for the football program. He was the running backs coach, recruiting coordinator and one of the special teams coaches for five seasons (1999-2003). In 1998 he was the secondary coach, working with the safeties, and he was also one of the special teams coaches. In 1997, Genyk was the linebackers coach, and one of the special teams coaches as well. Genyk was elevated to inside linebackers coach in December of 1996, prior to the Wildcats’ appearance in the Comp USA Florida Citrus Bowl. Before the 1997 season, he made the switch to outside linebackers coach. During the 1994, 1995 and 1996 seasons, he was the director of football operations. He first joined the Northwestern staff as a graduate assistant coach for the 1992 and 1993 seasons.

During his tenure as the running backs coach, Genyk tutored tailback Damien Anderson to a school-record 2,063 yards in the 2000 season. He also saw another one of his running backs, Jason Wright, reach the 1,000-yard rushing mark in both 2002 and 2003 with 1,234 and 1,151 yards respectively. Anderson went on to earn All-American honors in 2000 while Wright was an Academic All-American in 2002.

Genyk was part of three Big Ten championship teams, and four postseason bowl appearances at Northwestern. The 1995, 1996 and 2000 teams all won Big Ten titles. The 1995 squad played in the Rose Bowl, the 1996 team was in the Comp USA Florida Citrus Bowl, the 2000 team played in the Alamo Bowl, and the 2003 squad played in the Motor City Bowl.

The 47-year-old Genyk is a native of Milan, Mich. where he was an all-state quarterback at Milan High School. He went on to Bowling Green State University and played quarterback for the Falcons from 1978-81 before completing his bachelor’s degree in 1982 in business administration. Genyk has two master’s degrees, an MBA from Western Michigan University in 1989, and a master’s in education from Northwestern in 1994.

Genyk joined the Northwestern football staff in 1992 after serving as an assistant coach at Grand Rapids (Mich.) Community College from December 1990 to the spring of 1992 where he tutored the quarterbacks and wide receivers. Prior to joining the coaching ranks, he worked in private business from 1982-91.

Genyk’s father, George Genyk, served as a high school head football coach in the state of Michigan for more than 30 years.

Genyk and his wife, Lisa, reside in Ypsilanti with their two children: son, Jake and daughter, McKenna.