Exclusive Q&A: Meet new Saginaw Rough Riders football coach Mike DeWitt
Saginaw football, after an incredible season-to-season turnaround and a district championship in 2024, will have a new head coach in the 2025 season: Mike DeWitt.
DeWitt has had coaching stints at Coppell, McKinney Boyd, Tom Bean ISD, Hebron, Frisco Liberty, and most recently at New Caney.
The Star-Telegram caught up with DeWitt for an exclusive question-and-answer session.
Star-Telegram: Why was the Saginaw opening one that you were interested in?
There’s great people here, and the administration is great. I’ve known people who have coached here. I knew several coaches who were on the staff last year. And I’ve always heard good things about (EMS ISD). It’s a very respectful district. The other thing is, it’s an opportunity to get to come to the Metroplex. That’s where I’m from. So, it’s a chance to get back. When I first interviewed, the people were great, and it just felt like a really special place. And now that I’m here, I see the kids are awesome, and it’s just a very good spot.
Last year, the team had one of the greatest stories and turnarounds in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. What have you heard about the magic of last season?
Well, those coaches did a great job, Coach (Mike) Peters and his staff. They had a really good senior class. They had great senior leadership. And then they had a great younger group, too.
And so they just had some kids that bought in and had a staff that did a really good job. And a lot of those kids had been through the down times. And so I think they went to work and bought in. They had a great year. It’s just pretty impressive.
What’s it going to take to maintain the standard that was set and also raise the bar?
Well, the message that I’ve had since I got here — it’s the same that I give to every team I’ve ever coached. I mean, every year is a new year. You’ve got a new group of kids, and depending on the year, you’re gonna have a new group of coaches, and so no team is the same. We just try to try to capture some of that positive momentum from having a great year last year.
And try to build on that. But we’ve got to show up and go to work. So everything that was done last year is great. It can create some excitement and some positivity around a program, but at the end of the day, as coaches and as players, we have to go to work, and we can’t be complacent. We’ve got to continue to have a blue-collar mentality and a chip on our shoulder and try to go earn it.
Do you think that this team can compete for a district title, and what’s it going to take to maximize their potential?
We want to play at a high level, and we want to be successful, and certainly, we have goals as a team. We want to focus on one game at a time. Not taking anything for granted and not overlooking anybody. Every game is important to us. And so, we’re really focused on just trying to get ready for the season we want to have. We’ve got two scrimmages. Want to get ready and have a great opener, and we’ll try to go from there, but I do think that there’s a lot of talent here. I think there’s a lot of potential, but we don’t want to look ahead and make predictions. We want to go to work.
How would you describe your personal coaching philosophy and coaching style?
I’m kind of a blue-collar, underdog mentality guy. I was always the scrappy player. And I’ve been a defensive guy, so my mentality has always been built around trying to be sound defensively, be physical. We’re going to try to get after people. But as far as my coaching philosophy, I have the mindset of show up and go to work. We’re going to be fundamentally sound, we’re going to be physical, and we’re going to be great at the fundamentals.
What stands out about a guy like Najae Nicholson? (Returning linebacker with 108 tackles)
You can tell he’s kind of the alpha dog. He’s a tough kid. He wrestled, and he ran track. He actually ran the open 100-meter a couple of meets. He threw the shot put. So he’s a multi-sport kid. He’s a tough kid. Kids respect him. He’s a good football player and he’s certainly a guy that we’re excited about. Got a great motor. I mean, he’s a leader. He doesn’t say a whole lot, but when he does, the kids listen to him.
Do you expect the defense to have a faster start than the offense, considering the number of returners on that end?
I don’t know. It’s a whole new group. There are some kids coming back, but there are new coaches. You’ve younger kids who are going to now be on varsity. You’ve got kids who graduated who were great players. So I think we’ll have to see. I think offensively and defensively, there’s going to be some new things, and a learning curve. But we’ve been able to have skills, and then the off-season and throughout the summer, so it seems like the kids are picking things up. Hopefully, both sides of the ball start fast, not just one side.
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