Montana Tech of the University of Montana Men's Football

Kyle Samson became Montana Tech's head football coach on January 21, 2020 after serving as the program's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach the season prior. In just his third season, Samson and his staff led the Orediggers back to the NAIA National Tournament for the first time since 2016. Montana Tech finished the 2023 campaign with a 7-4 record and a pair of wins over teams ranked in the top 20. The Diggers repeated that success in 2024, playing to a 9-3 record and earning the No. 7 seed and a first-round bye in the NAIA championship bracket. Tech finished the year ranked 10th in the postseason NAIA top 25. In 2022, Samson's Montana Tech team finished 7-3 and just missed out on the NAIA playoff, finishing third in the Frontier Conference standings. The Orediggers defeated four league opponents ranked or receiving votes in the NAIA coaches' poll, reaching No. 19 themselves and finishing the year at No. 24. Tech led the league in scoring and were third on defensive points. The Oredigger defense forced 24 turnovers and gave up the ball 15 times. The Orediggers placed 13 men on the all-conference team, including eight first team selections, three from the offense, three defense, and two special teams.    Prior to his arrival in Butte, Samson led the Flathead High School football program for five seasons prior to arriving in the Mining City. The Braves had one of the top offenses in the state, reaching the MHSA Class AA state title game in 2018 for the first time since 2000. Flathead made the playoffs three out of his five seasons while in Kalispell.   Samson served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for seven seasons at Montana State Northern 2007-14. The Lights offense was ranked in the top 10 nationally from 2011-13.   As a player, Samson was an all-state quarterback at Capital High School in Helena. He was a three-time All-Frontier Conference selection for Montana State University-Northern and won the 2006 Frontier Conference Offensive Player of the Year honor. Samson finished his collegiate career with 5,303 yards passing and 1,591 yards on the ground. He had a 62.1 career completion percentage and scored 45 total touchdowns. Samson lives in Butte with his wife, Brooke, and their four children: Troy, Jordyn, Beau, and KJ.

Kody Torgerson joined the Oredigger coaching staff in the winter of 2021.  Torgerson played wide receiver for Montana Tech before medically retiring. The Great Falls native played high school football under head coach Mark Samson at Great Falls High earning all-conference and all-state accolades at both wide receiver and defensive back. Torgerson’s father Brion played for Montana Tech, and his brothers Kyle and Levi are currently playing for Orediggers.

Doug Schleeman joined the Oredigger coaching staff in 1996 and was appointed assistant head coach after being named the NAIA Assistant Coach of the Year following the 2010 campaign. During his career at Montana Tech, Schleeman has been part of seven conference championship teams. He has coached more than 60 all-conference selections including the all-time career reception, touchdown, and yardage record holders. Schleeman played collegiately at Peru State College in Nebraska, where he was a four-year letterman and an all-conference performer at center. He helped lead his team to the school's first-ever playoff appearance in his senior season. Following his playing career, Schleeman assisted in coaching Peru's offensive line before making his first move to Montana. From 1990-1992, he was the head coach at Shields Valley High School in Clyde Park. In his three years at the helm, the Rebels made two state playoff appearances, and Schleeman served on the Class C All-Star Game coaching staff twice. Following his tenure at Shields, Schleeman returned to the college ranks in his home state of Nebraska as an assistant at Chadron State College for two years, where he earned his master's degree in secondary education. He then took over as head coach at Kemmerer High School in Kemmerer, Wyo., where he coached until moving to Butte in 1996. Schleeman is a native of Culbertson, Neb., and resides in Butte with his wife, Tara — who is part of the occupational safety and health faculty at Montana Tech — and their three children: Kenna, Kade, and Koda. He also has two older children, Nicole and Drew.

Montell Allen comes to Montana Tech from the University of Chicago, where he spent one season as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the Maroons. Allen arrived at UChicago after a four-year tenure at Lehigh University. He was the defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator for the Mountain Hawks in 2021 and 2022 and previously held the position of cornerbacks coach from 2019 to 2020. Allen also assisted in coaching wedge, gunners, and jammers on the special teams unit. Lehigh's defense ranked in the top three in the Patriot League for his final three seasons at the Pennsylvania school, with the 2022 squad ranking second in the conference in sacks. The 2019 squad ranked 22nd in the NCAA's FCS in scoring defense. Before his time at Lehigh, Allen was the special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach at Lake Erie College for the 2019 season. Allen began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant and cornerbacks coach at Hastings College in Nebraska in 2016. He was also a graduate assistant at the University of South Carolina, where he worked with special teams and linebackers during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. The Gamecocks played in the Belk Bowl and the Outback Bowl, where they defeated the University of Michigan. As a collegiate football player, Allen played for the University of San Diego, where he was a second-team All-Pioneer League selection and team captain. He earned his bachelor's degree in sociology from San Diego.