Jerry Schmitt
American football player and coach (born 1960)
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Jerry Schmitt (born September 16, 1960) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at Duquesne University, a position he had held since the 2005 season. Schmitt served as the head coach at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania from 2000 to 2004. He is an alumnus of Westminster College, where he played as an offensive lineman on the football team. Prior to receiving the head coach position at Westminster, Schmidt was an assistant at Duquesne and a high school football coach in Pennsylvania.
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Duquesne |
| Conference | NEC |
| Record | 135–92 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | September 16, 1960 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1979–1981 | Westminster (PA) |
| Position | Offensive lineman |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1983–1984 | West Allegheny HS (PA) (OL/DL/JV) |
| 1985–1987 | Duquesne (assistant) |
| 1988 | Avonworth HS (PA) (OL/DL) |
| 1989 | Bethel Park HS (PA) (OL/DL) |
| 1990–1991 | South Fayette HS (PA) |
| 1992 | Duquesne (assistant) |
| 1993–1999 | Duquesne (OC) |
| 2000–2004 | Westminster (PA) |
| 2005–present | Duquesne |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 163–113 (college) |
| Tournaments | 1–3 (NCAA D-I playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 3 MAAC (2005–2007) 7 NEC (2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2023, 2024) | |
| Awards | |
| 2× NEC Coach of the Year (2018, 2023) | |
College career
After graduating from Pittsburgh’s Keystone Oaks High School in 1978, Schmitt played for Westminster College in Pennsylvania. As a senior in 1981, he led them to an undefeated regular season. In his time there, he was a three-year letterman.[1]
Coaching career
West Allegheny HS
Schmitt began his career as the offensive and defensive line coach while also coaching junior varsity basketball at West Allegheny High School.[2]
Duquesne
Schmitt first joined Duquesne in 1985 as an assistant coach. His first stint lasted up until 1987.[1]
South Fayette HS
In 1990, Schmitt landed the head coaching position at South Fayette High School after stints at other high schools.[3] This was his first time being a head coach of a football team after years of being an assistant coach.[4] His teams struggled that year, with South Fayette going 1–8–1, and the Beaver High girls' varsity team going 4–6.[3]
The following year, the football team improved slightly, going 3–7. He resigned after that season, looking for other opportunities.[4]
1st Return to Duquesne
In 1992, Schmitt returned to Duquesne as an assistant coach. The following year, he was named offensive coordinator.[5] In his time as Duquesne's offensive coordinator, they went 53–21.[2]
Westminster
In 2000, Schmitt was named as Westminster College's new football head coach.[2] In his time with Westminster, he had a record of 28–21 and saw the team transfer from Division II to Division III.[6]
2nd Return to Duquesne
However, COVID-19 issues scrapped the only game outside Big 12 play last season along with a bowl appearance.[7]
Duquesne began the 2021 season with a 45–3 loss to the TCU Horned Frogs.[7] They finished the season 7–3, and 5–2 in the NEC in 2021.[8]
In 2023, Schmitt was named the NEC Coach of the Year, his second since 2018. That season, they went 6–1 in their conference and had an overall record of 7-4. With a win over Merrimac, they won the NEC title and qualified for the FCS playoffs.[9] In the first round, they were defeated by the Youngstown State Penguins.[10]
Head coaching record
College
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westminster Titans (Presidents' Athletic Conference) (2000–2004) | |||||||||
| 2000 | Westminster | 8–2 | N/A | N/A | |||||
| 2001 | Westminster | 4–5 | N/A | N/A | |||||
| 2002 | Westminster | 6–4 | 4–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 2003 | Westminster | 5–5 | 3–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 2004 | Westminster | 5–5 | 2–3 | 4th | |||||
| Westminster: | 28–21 | 9–6 | |||||||
| Duquesne Dukes (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) (2005–2007) | |||||||||
| 2005 | Duquesne | 7–3 | 4–0 | 1st | |||||
| 2006 | Duquesne | 7–3 | 3–1 | 1st | |||||
| 2007 | Duquesne | 6–4 | 2–1 | 1st | |||||
| Duquesne Dukes (Northeast Conference) (2008–present) | |||||||||
| 2008 | Duquesne | 3–7 | 2–5 | 6th | |||||
| 2009 | Duquesne | 3–8 | 2–6 | T–7th | |||||
| 2010 | Duquesne | 7–4 | 5–3 | 3rd | |||||
| 2011 | Duquesne | 9–2 | 7–1 | T–1st | |||||
| 2012 | Duquesne | 5–6 | 3–5 | T–6th | |||||
| 2013 | Duquesne | 7–4 | 4–2 | T–1st | |||||
| 2014 | Duquesne | 6–6 | 2–4 | 5th | |||||
| 2015 | Duquesne | 8–4 | 5–1 | 1st | L NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
| 2016 | Duquesne | 8–3 | 5–1 | T–1st | |||||
| 2017 | Duquesne | 7–4 | 4–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 2018 | Duquesne | 9–4 | 5–1 | T–1st | L NCAA Division I Second Round | ||||
| 2019 | Duquesne | 6–5 | 4–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 2020–21 | Duquesne | 4–1 | 4–0 | 1st | |||||
| 2021 | Duquesne | 7–4 | 5–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 2022 | Duquesne | 4–7 | 3–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 2023 | Duquesne | 7–5 | 6–1 | 1st | L NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
| 2024 | Duquesne | 8–3 | 5–1 | T–1st | |||||
| 2025 | Duquesne | 7–5 | 5–2 | 2nd | |||||
| Duquesne: | 135–92 | 85–46 | |||||||
| Total: | 163–113 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||