Copy of story from Minot Daily News (link)

The search continues

By CRAIG HAUPERT, Staff Writer chaupert@minotdailynews.com

Craig Haupert/MDN University of Dubuque, Iowa, offensive coordinator Joseph Austin meets with members of the press Wednesday at the Christensen Room in the Minot State University Dome. Austin is the third of four candidates MSU is interviewing for the vacant head football coaching job.

Minot is more than 800 miles away from Joseph Austin's residence in Dubuque, Iowa, but the offensive coordinator for the University of Dubuque football team wouldn't mind calling the Magic City home if given the opportunity.

Austin, 27, was at the Minot State University Dome on Wednesday interviewing for the head coaching job of the MSU football team, which was vacated by Mike Sivertson in November when the seven-year coach resigned after a 4-6 season and a four-year NAIA playoff drought. Austin is the third of four candidates the university is interviewing in person to fill the position.

“When the job came open it was something that I was interested in immediately,” Austin said. “Minot is a school with a very good reputation, so as I've coached in Minnesota and in Iowa and on the recruiting trail, Minot State is a school that you run across and you hear about.”

Austin initially learned about MSU when he was an assistant offensive coordinator at Concordia University in St. Paul. In preparation for a game against Bemidji State he, and the rest of the coaches, watched some game tape of Bemidji State, some of which featured MSU.

“We always seemed to play Bemidji early in the year so we'd get the Minot State tape,” Austin said. “So I've always been impressed with Minot. They have good facilities and a good reputation.”

Austin has been the offensive coordinator at the University of Dubuque since 2005 and has helped the school set 15 school and conference offensive records in two seasons. Before that he was the offensive coordinator at Augsburg College from 2004-05 and the assistant offensive coordinator at Concordia University from 2000-03. He earned his Master of Arts degree in organizational management from Concordia in 2004 and played as a quarterback at Saint Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa before surgery to prepare a broken vertebrea stopped his playing career short.

One of the Beavers' biggest flaws in recent years has been their offense, and Austin believes his six-years of experience as an offensive coordinator will help turn things around.

“The first thing I think we need to do offensively is to develop an identity. Where are we going to go when it's third down, when it's fourth down and we need these yards? What will we do? What will we hang our hat on, where do we need to go?

“(At Dubuque) we've been in a no-huddle, spread offense. What we really try to do is put our guys in a position to succeed as far as creating matchups, changing the tempo, creating mismatches, taking advantage of what the defense is going to give us.

“We may not be able to do exactly what I would like to do right away schematically. Our No. 1 objective is to put guys in position to succeed. Everyday we go on the field we want to make sure we are getting better.”

Defensively, Austin believes the Beavers have a strong foundation and he plans to enhance it by continuing to build the defensive line and put a lot of pressure on the opposing team's offense.

Although he has no head coaching experience, Austin feels he is ready to take the next step and that MSU is the right place to do it.

“My vision for this program is to be the best football team in the country in several areas, athletics, academics, in social and spiritual aspects,” Austin said. “I believe my calling is to take the step from being a coordinator to a head coach. I would like to fulfill this vision at MSU and do everything I can to make that come to pass.

“My wife and I want to be somewhere we can build a program. (MSU) wants somebody that will be around, I want somewhere to be around.”