From staff reports
sports@joplinglobe.com
Matt Barrett has been hired as offensive coordinator for the Missouri Southern football team.
The return of former Southern player Atiba Bradley and the promotions of Mike Mutz to defensive coordinator and Raleigh Jackson to fulltime defensive line coach were among other changes announced Thursday by Southern head coach Bart Tatum.
Bradley, who spent the past two seasons on the University of Missouri staff, will coach Missouri Southern’s linebackers. Mutz, entering his fifth season with the Lions, has guided the secondary.
“I think we feel fortunate to have the coaching staff we’ve assembled at this point,” Tatum said. “Our objective was to search nationally for the best candidates available and make ourselves better. We are confident we have put ourselves in position to improve as a coaching staff and program.”
Barrett comes to Southern after ten seasons at Catawba (N.C.) College, the last seven as the team’s offensive coordinator.
Barrett is a 1999 graduate of North Carolina State with a degree in business management. His Catawba offenses have set school records for scoring average, yards per game, rushing yards per carry, passing yards, third down conversions, touchdowns and single-season rushing yards for a player.
“Matt brings a tough-minded approach to offensive football with a commitment to running the ball,” Tatum said. “He has been very successful and has coached some really good offenses in the past.”
Bradley, a 2006 Southern graduate, played linebacker four seasons for the Lions. He spent one season as a student assistant for the Lions. He moved to Missouri, where he was in charge of offensive quality control and assistant quarterback coach in 2008 and assistant defensive line coach last fall.
Bradley, a former Joplin High School standout, was a two-time all-MIAA selection at Southern and was the second-leading tackler in 2005 with 72 stops and 9.5 tackles for loss.
“Atiba is a very popular guy on campus and in the Joplin community and we hated for him to leave the first time,” Tatum said. “It was too great of an opportunity to pass up. He went away and got better and now we have him back.”
Mutz helped the Southern defense finish first in the MIAA in passing defense two straight years. Jackson is entering his third season on the Lions’ staff.
“Coach Mutz and Jackson both are very loyal guys and both have an outstanding work ethic,” Tatum said. “Mike is very organized and will commit to a systems approach. With Raleigh, we were told then we hired him as an intern, and we saw it right away, that the sky would be the limit in his coaching future.”
Tatum said the Lions have also hired in trio of interns: Steven Coleman (assistant secondary), Gary Bass (assistant offensive line/tight ends) and Lamart Barrett (assistant wide receivers).
Coleman was an all-Mountain West selection during a four-year career at Texas Christian. Bass started three years at guard for Catawba, which had a 42-15 record with three playoff trips during his career. Barrett (no relation to the offensive coordinator) started three years at wide receiver for North Carolina State and later was invited to the St. Louis Rams training camp.
