Mike McElroy, Bethel's defensive coordinator, named head coach to replace retired Steve Johnson

Bethel University stayed in-house by naming Mike McElroy, 35, as its new football coach Tuesday. He will be replacing Steve Johnson, who retired after 35 seasons spent transforming the Royals from an also-ran to a potent force in the MIAC and Division III.

The proverbial large shoes to fill, coach?

"You ain't kidding,'' McElroy said in a phone conversation after his appointment was announced by athletic director Greg Peterson. McElroy has been the Royals' defensive coordinator for the past seven years after joining the program in 2017.

What are the Johnson traits a new coach should try to duplicate?

"I think foremost is the authenticity,'' McElroy said. "He loves his guys. The way I've watched his players treated, the way I was treated … I'm hoping some of that has rubbed off.

"I do know one thing. I won't cry as much. Almost anything that went to his heart would make Steve cry.''

Nearly the entire staff of Bethel assistants are also graduates of the school. McElroy is an outlier in that area — he played at Southern Illinois, at the same time Jerry Kill was the head coach and Tracy Claeys was the defensive coordinator.

That connection allowed him to spend two years as a Minnesota grad assistant in 2014 and 2015, working with the defense under Claeys.

Contacted Tuesday, Claeys said: "As a player, he communicated adjustments and teammates rallied around him. He wanted to try coaching, so we hired him at Minnesota. Mike will be an excellent head coach because he loves helping kids as much as he loves the game.''

McElroy said he would like to continue calling the defense for the Royals on gamedays — "I really love doing that'' — but he'll have to see how that works with the other demands on a head coach.

His first MIAC game as a head coach will be at home Sept. 28 against the now-No. 1 rival for conference superiority — St. John's.