Bio

Dean Paul served as head coach of the Ohio Northern University football program for 20 seasons.

Paul has energized the Polar Bear football program since arriving in 2004, leading Ohio Northern to 121 victories and national rankings in 11 of his 20 seasons directing the team.

During the 2018 campaign, Paul earned his 100th career coaching victory at Ohio Northern with a 13-7 win at Otterbein on September 22.

In 24 seasons as a head football coach at the Division III level, he has posted a 161-89 overall record for a .644 win percentage.

Paul was 121-77 during his 20 seasons at Ohio Northern, a winning percentage of .611.

In his 24-year head coaching career, Paul has coached 32 All-America selections.

Paul arrived at Ohio Northern after five highly-successful seasons at Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Ky.

He guided the Saints to a 40-12 record over five seasons and ranked eighth among the nation’s leaders in win percentage among active coaches.

Paul led Thomas More to the 2001 NCAA Division III playoffs, where the Saints defeated MacMurray 34-30 in the opening round before falling to Wittenberg in the second round.

He is one of only two active NCAA Division III coaches to lead two different schools to playoff victories.

During his first season at Thomas More in 1999, Paul led TMC to a 7-3 overall record after posting just a 3-7 mark the previous year.

In 2000, the Saints went 9-1 and were ranked No. 28 nationally in the AFCA poll.

Paul guided his 2001 squad to a perfect 10-0 regular season record, the third in school history, and outscored its opponents by an overwhelming 389-133 margin. TMC finished its season with an 11-1 record and a final ranking of No. 18 in the AFCA poll.

The 20-2 record over the 2000 and 2001 seasons is the best two-year stretch in TMC history, while the Saints’ 17-game winning streak during that span also is a program best.

Paul also had assistant coaching experiences at Tulane from 1993-94, Wooster from 1995-97, and Fordham in 1998 before taking over head coaching duties at TMC in 1999.

His first collegiate coaching job came in 1991-92 when he coached the running backs at Allegheny (Pa.), helping the Gators to 19 victories in two seasons.

Off the field, Paul also serves as a voting member on the D3Football.com poll and on the AFCA Football Council.

A four-year letterman at Mt. Union, he was named All-Ohio Athletic Conference in 1988 and 1990 and served as a team captain during his junior and senior seasons.

A native of Garrettsville, Ohio, Dean Bradley Paul received his Bachelor of Science degree in sports management from Mt. Union in 1990.

He and his wife, Tonya, have a daughter, Kendra, an ONU graduate, and two sons, Bryce and Brandon.

Football under Paul