NIU announces new tight end, fullback coach

By Christopher Loggins

Football bolstered its coaching staff Thursday, announcing the hiring of Bob Bostad to coach the team’s fullbacks and tight ends.

Bostad has spent time coaching at both the college and professional level. His last work came in the 2014-15 season as an offensive line coach for the Tennessee Titans, and he also spent a year coaching the offensive line of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2012-13 season. The Titans went 2-14 in 2014 and the Buccaneers went 7-9 in 2012. Prior to his time in the NFL, Bostad was part of the offensive coaching staff for the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 2006-11.

“We’re really excited to hire Bob Bostad,” said head coach Rod Carey, according to an NIU Athletics news release. “Both for what he brings from his time in the NFL and what he accomplished at Wisconsin and prior to that at New Mexico and some other places. His experience will be invaluable to our program. He’s certainly going to make a difference with his coaching ability and with his recruiting ties.”

Bostad coached a total of three first-round draft picks and four first-team All Americans in his time at Wisconsin, including helping the team host a 1,000-yard runner in each of his six seasons. In the NFL, his Tampa Bay offensive line was among the league’s best in fewest sacks allowed.

“It’s obviously a program that knows how to win,” Bostad said, according to the release. “And being here just a short time, I have seen that is because of the people in the program — the players, the coaches, the staff. I’m going to do my best to coach these players, to add to the system already in place and to move the program forward.”

The Huskies are set to open the season against the University of Wyoming on Sept. 3 in Laramie, Wyo.