University of Central Oklahoma Men's Football

Adam Dorrel is in his fifth season as head football coach at Central Oklahoma in 2026. He was named the 14th head coach of the historic program in December 2021. Dorrel has a 123-58 overall record as a head coach, including an 28-18 mark in four seasons with the Bronchos. Dorrel was named MIAA Coach of the Year and AFCA Region Coach of the Year in 2024 after leading UCO to an 11-2 record and the school's first MIAA title. Central earned a spot in the NCAA Division II Football Championship and hosted a first-round game. The Bronchos advanced to the Super Region III semifinals where they lost to the eventual national champs in Ferris State.  In 2024, UCO had six players earn All-American honors, the same number earned All-Region accolades, and 18 players earned All-MIAA honors following the season. Central Oklahoma also set 19 new school records in 2024, including seven team records and a dozen individual records. UCO went 6-5 in 2025, earning an early season Top 10 victory in a showdown with Pittsburg State in Edmond. The Bronchos went 4-2 at home on the year and Dorrel coached an All-American for the fourth consecutive season at UCO. In his first season with the Bronchos, Dorrel led UCO to a 6-5 record, which was the first winning season at Central since 2018. He won his first four home games as the head coach of the Bronchos, including knocking off No. 2 ranked Northwest Missouri. Dorrel led the Bronchos to a 5-1 record at Chad Richison Stadium in his first season.  Following the season, six student-athletes were named All-MIAA, and Dorrel also coached one All-Region selection and one All-American.  The Bronchos went 5-6 in Dorrel's second season, again posting a solid 4-1 record inside Chad Richison Stadium. UCO had four All-MIAA picks and one All-American.  A native of Maryville, Missouri who played and coached at Northwest Missouri State, Dorrel came to Central after spending five years at Abilene Christian. Dorrel played football at Northwest Missouri in the mid 1990s and became a graduate assistant coach there in 1999, when the team won its second national championship. After a few seasons working as an offensive line coach and offensive coordinator at other schools, Dorrel returned to Maryville to do the same for the Bearcats.   From 2004-2010, Northwest went to five consecutive national title games and won the third championship for the school in 2009.   Then he became head coach at his alma mater and the success ballooned higher.   Dorrel led Northwest to a 76-8 record from 2011-16 as the head coach, winning three more national titles for his school in 2013, 2015, and 2016. Each of those years he led the team to a 15-0 record and was named National Coach of the Year. He was 56-5 in the MIAA in his six seasons as head coach at Northwest, and 19-3 in the playoffs. Dorrel was inducted into the Northwest Missouri State M-Club Hall of Fame in 2023.    Dorrel then went to Abilene Christian to help the school as it transitioned into Division I. He went 19-32 there, leading ACU to its first winning season since making the move to DI in 2018. He coached over a dozen All-Conference selections in five seasons in Texas.    

James Curlee arrived at Central Oklahoma in December 2021 and coaches wide receivers and special teams in his fourth season for the Bronchos, in addition to handling offensive coordinator responsibilities. In August 2024, he was promoted to Associate Head Coach. Curlee was named D2Football.com's Offensive Coordinator of the Year in 2024 after leading Central Oklahoma to a record-setting season. The Bronchos had six players earn All-American honors, the same number earned All-Region accolades, and 18 players earned All-MIAA honors following the season. Central Oklahoma also set 19 new school records in 2024, including seven team records and a dozen individual records. All 19 records came via Curlee's offense.  Curlee coached consensus All-American Terrill Davis at wide receiver, with the pair working together over the past three seasons. Davis set a UCO single season record for receiving yards (1,609) and receiving touchdowns (16). He was one catch off the single season receptions record. Davis earned All-MIAA, All-Region, and All-American honors and was nominated for the Harlon Hill Trophy. Curlee also coached at wideout the MIAA Freshman of the Year in Ashton Schumann.  In his first season with the Bronchos, Curlee helped the team to a 6-5 record, the first winning season at UCO since 2018. He guided the offense that saw two players earn All-MIAA status on the offensive side of the ball. The Bronchos went 5-6 in his second season with two more offensive standouts earning All-MIAA honors. UCO averaged 27 points and more than 400 yards of offense per game in 2023.    Curlee came to Central from Abilene Christian, where he coached from 2017-21. Prior to that he was at Hastings College, where he coached for one year following his four-year playing career.   Curlee, who is from Round Rock, Texas, played four years at Hastings and was a three-time All-Conference selection and two-year team captain. He finished his playing career second in all-time receptions (111) and fourth in all-time receiving yards (1,700).   Curlee is married (Nicole).  

Patrick Briningstool joined the University of Central Oklahoma football coaching staff in the spring of 2023 and will enter his third season coaching quarterbacks for the Bronchos this fall. Central Oklahoma went 11-2 in 2024, winning the MIAA title for the first time before qualifying for the NCAA Division II Football Championship and advancing to the Super Region III semfinals before losing to the eventual national champion.  Briningstool coached one of the best quarterbacks in the country in 2024, with Jett Huff leading the Bronchos to a record-setting season. UCO had the No. 1 offense in the country and a top-five passing attack. UCO set 19 new school records in 2024 and all were on offense.  Central averaged 538.4 yards of total offense per game, including 332.6 passing yards per game. The Bronchos also averaged a school record 44.3 points per game.  UCO went 5-6 in his first season with the program, putting up 401 yards of offense per game, including 245 yards passing per game, while scoring 27 points per game during the 2023 season. The Bronchos had two players from the offensive side of the ball earn All-MIAA honors.  Briningstool came to UCO from Western New Mexico, where he coached receivers and served as recruiting coordinator in 2022. He is no stranger to the MIAA, having played at Emporia State from 2016-19 and serving as a graduate assistant (running backs) in 2020. Briningstool has also coached at Youngstown State and Iowa Western.  Originally from Clinton Township, Michigan where he starred at Chippewa Valley High School, Briningstool earned his business degree from Emporia State. He is married (Jordan).   

Devin Johnston was hired in 2025 to lead the cornerbacks position for Central Oklahoma. A former standout at Ottawa University in Kansas, Johnston comes to UCO after serving as a graduate assistant coach for Emporia State. Johnston holds a bachelor’s degree in sports studies with a concentration in coaching from Ottawa. He received his master’s degree in science and health from Emporia State. Johnston played football for the Ottawa Braves from 2018-2022 and was a 5x KCAC All-Conference Selection, 2x Team Captain, and earned AFCA/AP NAIA All-American honors in 2021. Over his playing career (2018–2022), he totaled 19 interceptions, 32 pass breakups, and 191 tackles — cementing a reputation as a reliable, high-IQ defensive back. Johnston worked with an Emporia State staff that won 16 ball games over the past two seasons. He led the cornerback room that included D2CCA All-American Jaaron Joseph, who was the first All-American cornerback in school history. Joseph, along with Montrell Wilson the year before, earned All-MIAA honors under Johnston’s guidance. Johnston is originally from Leavenworth, Kansas and graduated in 2018.

Thomas Pearson joined the Central Oklahoma football coaching staff in 2024 and serves as co-defensive coordinator and safeties position coach for the Bronchos. In his first season, UCO went 11-2 and won the MIAA title for the first time since joining the league in 2012. The Bronchos qualified for the NCAA Division II Football Championship and hosted a first-round playoff game, beating Oauchita Baptist 38-31 in overtime. UCO made it to the Super Region III semfinals before losing to eventual national champion Ferris State. Pearson coached a pair of All-MIAA selections with defensive backs Kobey Stephens and Dylan Buchheit earning the honors.    Pearson brings 13 years of collegiate coaching experience to UCO from Gannon, where he spent the last three seasons working with the defense there. He also spent six years prior to that at Ottawa University in Kansas.   Pearson was a student-assistant coach for Ottawa in 2010 and a graduate assistant for Bethel University in Tennessee in 2012 and 2013 before landing his first full-time coaching job at Orange Coast College in California, where he worked for two years before returning to Ottawa.   Career highlights include coaching four all-conference linebackers at OCC and two at Bethel, including a preseason All-American. At Ottawa, he coached 37 All-KCAC picks and three All-Americans. He guided the Ottawa Braves defense that led the KCAC in interceptions while ranking second in sacks after ranking third in both total defense and scoring defense in 2018, when the team went 8-2.   At Gannon, Pearson helped turn the team around with a defensive-minded force that helped Gannon tie for first in the PSAC West division with an 8-3 record in 2021. The numbers dropped significantly on the defensive side of the ball, with Pearson’s bunch going from allowing 29 points per game down to just 21 points per game.   He guided the defense that posted 33 sacks in one season, ranking among the best in the country. Pearson also worked with special teams at Gannon and led the group that blocked four kicks in one season (2021), knocking back two field goals and two punts.   Pearson earned his undergraduate degree from Ottawa (2009) and his master’s degree from Bethel (2013). Pearson earned a bachelor’s degree studying exercise science and he earned a master’s degree studying secondary education.   He is married (Nicole) and has twin boys (Thomas III and Jackson) and one daughter (Zoe).

Cody Swanson joined the University of Central Oklahoma football staff in 2024 and directs the Broncho defensive line in addition to play-calling duties as co-defensive coordinator. In 2024, UCO went 11-2 and won the MIAA title, hosted a first-round playoff game, and advanced to the NCAA Division II Football Championship Super Region III semifinal. Swanson led a defense that ended the year with eight All-MIAA selections, an All-Region pick, and an All-American on the defensive side of the football.  Swanson came to Central Oklahoma from Gannon (Pa.), where he spent the previous two seasons. He was the defensive line coach there and spent his second season as co-defensive coordinator. In joining Central, Swanson made his return to the MIAA. The Emporia, Kansas native played two seasons at Emporia State (2018-19) and received his bachelor's degree from there. He also spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at ESU in 2020 and 2021.  Swanson was hired at Gannon in February 2022 and spent his first season there under the guidance of Bryan Nardo, another former Emporia coach that moved on from Gannon to lead the Oklahoma State Cowboys as defensive coordinator in 2023. Swanson was promoted to co-DC following Nardo's departure from Gannon. Gannon in 2023 had the third-best overall defense in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), allowing 301.9 yards per game. Three PSAC teams made the NCAA Division II playoffs last season in the seven-team Super Region I bracket. Swanson is married (Jordyn) and has two sons (Maddox and Rona). 

Rick Roberts joined the University of Central Oklahoma football coaching staff in 2023 and is the assistant coach in charge of the tight end position for the Bronchos. In 2024, Central Oklahoma went 11-2 in 2024, winning the MIAA title for the first time before qualifying for the NCAA Division II Football Championship and advancing to the Super Region III semfinals before losing to the eventual national champion. UCO set 19 new school records in 2024 and all were on offense. The No. 1 offense in the country, Central averaged 538.4 yards of total offense per game, including 332.6 passing yards per game. The Bronchos also averaged a school record 44.3 points per game.  Roberts began work as a graduate assistant at UCO in Spring 2023, helping with the quarterbacks. He began working with the offensive line in Spring 2024 before being promoted to a full-time position coaching tight ends.  Roberts graduated from California Lutheran University with his bachelor's degree in Sports Management in 2022 following a three-year playing career at QB with the Kingsmen. Originally from Santa Clarita, California, Roberts attended Trinity Classical Academy and graduated in 2020. He was named First Team All-CIF in high school.

Jesse Harwell enters his first season with Central Oklahoma as its Sport Performance Coach.  The former graduate assistant football coach returned to UCO in January 2024 to help with strength & conditioning, nutrition, and will also assist in coaching the linebacker group for the football team. Harwell served as a GA during the 2022 season with the Bronchos. In 2024, Harwell helped the football program achieve great success on and off the field. The Bronchos went 11-2 and won the MIAA championship, qualifying for the NCAA Division II Football Championship and hosting a first-round game. UCO advanced to the Super Region III semifinals and lost to eventual national champion Ferris State.  Harwell coached the linebacker group and guided Jack Puckett to All-MIAA, All-Region, and All-American honors.  Harwell spent the 2023 season as the linebackers coach at Missouri S&T, where six defensive players earned All-GLVC honors, including three linebackers. Harwell got his coaching start at Henderson State in Arkansas, where he also earned his masters degree. He is a former standout for the Southeastern Oklahoma State Savage Storm, where he played until 2019.