Nate Dreiling (Dry-ling) is in his first season at Utah State. Originally hired as the defensive coordinator and defensive ends coach, Dreiling was elevated to interim head coach on July 2, 2024.
Overall, Dreiling is entering his fifth year as a defensive coordinator and 10th year as a collegiate coach. At his previous five institutions, he has coached in four bowl games and been part of one conference championship team.
Dreiling came to Utah State after spending the past two seasons as the defensive coordinator at New Mexico State as he helped lead the Aggies to a 17-11 record and consecutive bowl games, along with playing in the Conference USA championship game in its first year in the league in 2023.
During the 2023 season, New Mexico State posted a 10-5 record, including a 7-1 mark in Conference USA. It was just the second time in program history that a NMSU team won 10 or more games. During the season, the Aggies’ defense was one of the best units in the nation as it allowed 22.8 points per game to lead its conference and rank 44th at the FBS level. The Aggies also ranked second in the conference and 48th in the nation in rushing defense at 143.7 yards per game.
New Mexico State’s defense also excelled in the red zone under Dreling as the Aggies ranked first in the conference and fifth in the nation in 2023, allowing opponents to score 72.6 percent of the time when inside the 20-yard line.
Under Dreiling, four New Mexico State defenders earned all-Conference USA honors, including defensive tackle Sterling Webb, who was named to the first team and linebacker Keyshaun Elliott, who was named to the second team.
In his first season at New Mexico State in 2022, Dreiling inherited a defense that ranked 127th in total defense among FBS schools. The ‘22 Aggies were the most improved defensive unit in college football that year, climbing 98 spots to 29th in the nation with an average of 336.3 yards allowed per game. NMSU also ranked 16th in the nation in passing defense as it allowed 186.8 yards per game.
Three Aggie defenders earned postseason honors at the end of the 2022 campaign in linebacker Chris Ojoh (first team), cornerback Syrus Dumas (first team) and safety Bryce Jackson (second team).
Prior to New Mexico State, Dreiling spent the 2021 season as the defensive run game coordinator and inside linebackers coach for FCS program Southeast Missouri State. The Redhawks collected a top-10 victory to cap off their season with a 31-14 home triumph against eighth-ranked UT Martin to finish 4-2 in Ohio Valley Conference action. With Dreiling on the sidelines, Southeast Missouri State held UT Martin to just 14 points, which was its lowest offensive output in over a year.
Dreiling went to Southeast Missouri State after a one-and-a-half-year stint on head coach Mario Cristobal’s staff at Oregon. With Dreiling on staff, the Ducks were able to rope in the nation’s sixth-best recruiting class for 2021. As a defensive analyst for Cristobal, Dreiling helped Oregon capture the 2020 Pac-12 title before it took part in the Fiesta Bowl.
Returning to the program that he helped lead as a player, Dreiling’s first full-time coaching stop came at NCAA Division II Pittsburg State in Pittsburg, Kansas. For three seasons, Dreiling served on the Gorillas’ coaching staff as a safeties coach (2017) and then as the program’s defensive coordinator (2018-19).
In his first season at Pittsburg State, he helped the Gorillas force a total of 25 turnovers, while ranking second in the nation in fourth-down conversion percentage (.200) and 19th in fumble recoveries.
In the two seasons after Dreiling was elevated to the Gorillas’ defensive coordinator, 17 players garnered all-conference honors, including safety Morgan Selenaea, who earned honorable mention All-America honors in 2018. All told, Dreiling’s defensive schemes allowed Pittsburg State to rank among the top two in its conference in 11 different statistical categories in 2018 and 2019.
His first coaching gig came in the Jayhawk State, too, as he signed on with Kansas as a graduate assistant for two seasons (2015-16). Helping oversee the Jayhawks’ linebackers (2015) and defensive line (2016), Dreiling assisted in the development of three all-Big 12 performers, including Dorance Armstrong, who was a fourth-round NFL Draft pick by the Dallas Cowboys in 2018.
One of the best NCAA Division II football players in the nation on either side of the ball, Dreiling terrorized opposing offenses through his four-year career (2010-13) at Pittsburg State. A four-time All-American, Dreiling led the Gorillas to the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2011, a year in which he was named the NCAA Division II National Defensive Player of the Year by the Don Hansen Football Committee.
The 2011 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) Defensive Player of the Year amassed a trio of all-MIAA awards and was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2013. His 491 career tackles top both the Pittsburg State and MIAA all-time charts.
Dreiling’s success on the field caught the eye of numerous NFL teams following his collegiate career. The linebacker signed an undrafted free agent deal with the Green Bay Packers ahead of the 2014 season and spent time on the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad that same year. He wrapped up his playing career by signing on with the Omaha Mammoths of the now-defunct Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL) for the remainder of 2014.
Dreiling and his wife, Alexa, have a two daughters, Baylor and Baisley, and a son, Baker.
NATE DREILING FILE
Coaching History
2024-              Utah State – Interim Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Ends
2022-23          New Mexico State – Defensive Coordinator
2021               Southeast Missouri State – Defensive Run Game Coordinator/Inside Linebackers
2020               Oregon – Defensive Analyst
2018-19          Pittsburg State – Defensive Coordinator
2017               Pittsburg State – Safeties
2015-16          Kansas – Graduate Assistant
Bowl Games (4)
New Mexico State (2): 2023 New Mexico Bowl; 2022 Quick Lane Bowl
Oregon (1): 2020 Fiesta Bowl
Pittsburg State (1): 2017 United Bowl
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Conference Championships (1)
Oregon (1): 2020 Pac-12
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Playing Experience
2014               Omaha Mammoths – Linebacker
2014               Kansas City Chiefs – Linebacker
2014               Green Bay Packers – Linebacker
2010-13          Pittsburg State – Linebacker
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Education
2013               Pittsburg State – General Studies
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Family
Wife – Alexa; Children – Baylor, Baisley, Baker
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