TEAM INFO
TEAM COACH—FOOTBALL
Greg Debeljak
Greg Debeljak recently completed his fifth season as the head football coach at Case Western Reserve University. After serving 15 years as an assistant coach in the local college ranks, he was named Case Western Reserve's head coach on March 24, 2004.
Under Debeljak, the Case Western Reserve University football team has won 21 consecutive regular season games from 2006-2008 on its way to back-to-back University Athletic Association titles and NCAA playoff appearances (2007: second round, 2008: first round). Debeljak and his coaching staff received the UAA Coaching Staff of the Year award for the third time (2004, 2007, 2008) after the Spartans finished the 2008 season ranked 8th in the nation in the American Football Coaches Association poll.
Debeljak was named Division III Region 2 Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) in 2008, and for the second straight year is a finalist for the AFCA Division III Coach of the Year and Liberty Mutual Division III Coach of the year awards.
In 2007, Debeljak coached the Spartans to an undefeated 10-0 regular season and Case Western Reserve's first-ever postseason appearance and first outright UAA title. He was awarded with the Lee Tressel Award and the Ohio College Coach of the Year Award after the team earned a season-ending No. 15 national ranking. The Spartans went 10-0 again in 2008, claiming the UAA and reaching the postseason for the second year in a row.
Including the playoffs, Case Western Reserve has posted a 21-2 record overall the past two seasons.
A graduate of nearby Mentor High School, Debeljak served as the Spartans associate head coach/offensive coordinator for three seasons before being named to the head job. In 2002, Case Western Reserve finished second in the nation in total offense and first in the nation in passing offense under Debeljak’s guidance.
Prior to coming to Case Western Reserve, Debeljak spent 12 years as an assistant (1988-2000) at his alma mater, John Carroll University (JCU). At JCU he was a graduate assistant his first two seasons, before working eight years as the quarterbacks and receivers coach. Before Debeljak's final season at John Carroll, he was promoted to the offensive coordinator position.
He was a member of the staff that produced Washington Redskins linebacker London Fletcher and was the position coach for New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Indianapolis Colts personnel director Tom Telesco and former pros Tom Arth and Larry Wanke.
Debeljak earned both his bachelor’s (1988) and master’s (1995) degrees from John Carroll. He played both football and basketball for the Blue Streaks. As a football player at JCU, he lettered four times, once as a defensive back (earning second team All-PAC honors), twice as a quarterback and once as a receiver. As a basketball player, he helped lead the Blue Streaks to a pair of President's Athletic Conference titles and still holds the school record for assists in a single game with 13.
Marcus Macalla: Defensive Coordinator & Assistant Head Coach
Marcus Macalla joined Case in 2001 after serving as Kenyon's defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator. Macalla played outside linebacker at Baldwin-Wallace College and earned his bachelor's degree in business administration and health and physical education in 1994. He also received a master's in education, with an emphasis on chemical dependency and substance abuse, from John Carroll University.
Macalla served as an assistant coach at JCU for three seasons where he dealt with defensive ends, linebackers, and special teams. Before Kenyon, Macalla was at Hamline University, where he coached wide receivers and also coached track. He also coached football and track at North Olmsted and Wickliffe High Schools.
Jerry Schuplinski: Special Teams Coordinator/Linebackers
Jerry Schuplinski was named a full-time assistant coach on August 25, 2008.
Schuplinski was previously the head football coach at local Trinity High School since December of 2002 and its athletic director since June of 2007. He graduated from Trinity in 1995.
The 2003 Ohio Division IV Co-Coach of the Year inherited a struggling program that had not posted a winning season in seven years and turned the program around. The Trojans won two conference championships and the team’s first state playoff appearance [2006] in 19 years under Schuplinski’s reign.
From January of 2000 until May of 2002, he worked as a graduate assistant at John Carroll University. At JCU, he handled the running backs and worked with the special teams. Schuplinski served under Coach Debeljak for one season [2000] at JCU. Debeljak, who played and coached at JCU 1984-2000, was the offensive coordinator at the time.
Schuplinski earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration [1999] and a Masters in Business Administration [2001] from JCU.
Dereck Slesh: Offensive Coordinator
Dereck Slesh came to Case in 2001 and the 2004 season marks his first as the offensive boss. Slesh spent the previous three seasons at Case as the defensive coordinator.
He attended Hawken High School where he was an All-State football player his senior season (1983). He played football and baseball while at Marietta College where he received a BA in business management in 1988. He also earned a MBA from Cleveland State University in 1996. Prior to his arrival at Case, Slesh spent three seasons (1996, 1997, 2000) on the John Carroll University coaching staff as well a stint as the Benedictine High School business manager/treasurer (1997-2000). He was also the head coach at Benedictine (1998-99) and spent five seasons on the Beachwood High School staff (1990-95). Slesh began his coaching career at his alma mater, Hawken, in 1989.
Spartan Part-Time Assistants
Mickey Iliano -- Offensive Line
Jim Michals -- Outside Linebackers
James Rosenbury -- Runniing Backs
Ben Taylor -- Defensive Line
Mike Jones -- Corner Backs
Ryan Jones -- Wide Receivers
Dave DiCarlo -- Quarterbacks
John Tiemeier -- Assistant Outside Linebackers
Mike Tuertscher -- Assistant Linebackers
CONTACT
Head Coach Greg Debeljak
Phone: (216) 368-2864
E-mail: greg.debeljak@case.edu
Asst. Coach Marcus Macalla
Phone: (216) 368-0548
E-mail: marcus.macalla@case.edu
Asst. Coach Jerry Schuplinksi
Phone: (216) 368-0548
E-mail: jerry.schuplinski@case.edu
Asst. Coach Dereck Slesh
Phone: (216) 368-0548
E-mail: dereck.slesh@case.edu