Nov. 25—GRAND FORKS — After losing five-straight games to close the 2024 season to finish 5-7 and outside the FCS playoff picture, UND football coach Bubba Schweigert held his postseason press conference Monday and said staff evaluations are ongoing.
“We’re evaluating everything,” Schweigert said when asked if he was going to make any changes with the assistant coaching staff. “That’s what we do every year. I evaluate myself. I look at what we’re doing with offense, defense and special teams. There aren’t decisions made. We went through the roster earlier today and we’re meeting with our guys before they leave for the holiday.”
After starting the season 5-2 and climbing to a Top 10 ranking, UND went on a long losing skid to end the year as the Hawks were 0-5 on the road with glaring defeats at Indiana State and Youngstown State.
The Fighting Hawks’ last road win was last season at Murray State.
“We’re disappointed,” said Schweigert. “Just five weeks ago we were in really good position and wanted to focus one week at a time. We knew we had a lot of tough games ahead but were in position to build a playoff resume, and it just didn’t happen.
“Expectations in our program are to be in the tournament. That’s the expectations I have as the head coach. We’ve done that four of the last six years, and I’m disappointed for the players. I thought our senior class was really awesome from January a year ago and how they led and stuck with it. I’m disappointed for those guys and entire roster.”
UND has yet to publicly comment on Schweigert’s future. Schweigert, who took over as head coach in 2014, signed a contract extension this past offseason through 2027.
The Hawks finished the 2024 season fifth in scoring offense and seventh in scoring defense in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
UND’s run defense struggled, finishing ninth in the MVFC and giving up more than 187 yards per game.
Schweigert said cornerback is a position of need as transfer portal recruiting opens soon. The Hawks lose starter Devin Hembry to graduation and regular Jamal Dixon has battled injuries this season.
Offensively, UND was led by former walk-on quarterback Simon Romfo, who was up and down in his first season as the starter.
Schweigert was asked if Romfo is the presumed starter heading into spring ball.
“I think we open up every job every year,” Schweigert said. “That’s what we’ve done for the last 11 seasons. We always say all jobs are open. We want guys to approach it like they have to win the job.”
