BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh head football coach Andy Coen has announced three updates to his coaching staff for the upcoming season. Donnie Roberts, who has served on the Mountain Hawks staff since 2006, has been named Assistant Head Coach, while Scott Brisson and Matt Sanders are the two newest additions to the Lehigh staff. Brisson will coach the running backs, while Sanders will oversee the outside linebackers. “I am very happy to announce the addition of two very fine young coaches to our coaching staff,” Coen said. “Scott Brisson and Matt Sanders are exactly the type of coaches we were looking for to work with our student-athletes.”
Roberts is in his third season as the Mountain Hawks defensive line coach after returning to Lehigh in 2006 for his second stint on the staff. He previously served at Lehigh from 1994-1999, with then-assistant coach Andy Coen. “Donnie Roberts has been an outstanding member of the Lehigh Football Family for many years and I am excited to name him Assistant Head Coach,” Coen explained. “Donnie does have prior head coaching experience and has proven himself to be a valuable asset to me in many areas during the past two years.”
In 2007, Roberts mentored a Lehigh defensive line that combined for nearly 200 total tackles, including 19.5 for loss, and 6.5 sacks. A pair of those linemen, Brian Jackson and Kyle Adams, earned spots on the All-Patriot League squad, and later went onto earn All-America distinction, with Jackson being named a Second-Team pick.
Prior to his return to Lehigh, Roberts taught Social Studies and served as head football coach and assistant athletics director at Allentown Central Catholic. At ACCHS, Roberts’ 2003 squad was named District XI 3A champions, while his 2005 team finished with a 9-3 record and won the Eastern Conference 3A championship.
Scott Brisson begins his first season as Lehigh’s running backs coach. Brisson came to Lehigh after working at Franklin and Marshall College for two seasons with the wide receivers. “Scott came very highly recommended from the staff at Franklin and Marshall,” said Coen. “Scott worked very closely with RJ Ryan who is a former player for us and also coached at Lehigh. Scott has experience in our offensive system and also did a very nice job recruiting for F&M last year. I am confident that he will do a great job coaching our running backs.”
Brisson attended Danbury High School in Connecticut where he was an All-Conference quarterback his senior year. After Danbury, he did post-high school work at Hotchkiss School in Connecticut. Brisson then attended Bowdoin College in Maine where he graduated from in 2006 with degrees in government and sociology. He was a four-year letterman at Bowdoin and helped lead his team to the school’s most wins in a season since 1970 as a senior. A wide receiver, he was second on the team in catches that year.
Matt Sanders is in his first season with the Lehigh Football program as the outside linebackers coach. Sanders came to Lehigh following a stint as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, the University of Louisville. During his time in that role Sanders was responsible for a number of duties including opponent game breakdown and scouting reports, film review with players, coaching the fullbacks on the kick-off return unit, running the scout special teams unit, and recruiting. Prior to that, Sanders was a student assistant coach with the Cardinals.
“I was extremely pleased to be able to hire Matt Sanders to coach our outside linebackers” Coen explained. “He really impressed me with his knowledge and enthusiasm for coaching during his interview process. He will bring a different perspective to our program, having come from Louisville.” Coen added, “It excites me to have a young coach who has not only played at a high level but has also gained valuable coaching experience at the Division I level.”
Sanders graduated from the University of Louisville in 2006 with a degree in accounting. He then went onto earn his MBA from Louisville in 2007 and is currently working on a second master’s degree in Human Resource Education. While an undergrad, Sanders was a two year letterwinner on the Cardinals football team, playing at middle linebacker and on special teams. He was a member of the 2004 Conference USA and Liberty Bowl Champions. Sanders career was cut short due to injury however, and he then assumed the role of student assistant coach in 2007.
Lehigh will begin its 2008 season on Saturday, September 6 when the Mountain Hawks play host to the Drake Bulldogs at Goodman Stadium. Kick-off is set for 12:30 and tickets can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME, by visiting the Lehigh Athletics Ticket Office, located in Grace Hall, or by logging onto Lehighsports.com.
