Forester Football

Career Highlights
	Fifth year as head coach at Lake Forest
	2002 Midwest Conference Coach of the Year
	Coached 2002 team to school-record nine wins, the programs's first conference title since 1983, and its first-ever NCAA Playoff appearance
	Already ranks fourth in the program's 113-year history in coaching victories
	Was previously the defensive coordinator at Lake Forest and Wayne State (MI) for three years each
	Graduate of MWC member Knox College
	The Foresters have set 33 school records in his four seasons as head coach
	Since he joined the staff in 1997, the defense has posted the top seven tackles for loss and three of the top four sack totals in school history

Chad Eisele is in his fifth year as the Foresters' head football coach and his eighth with the program. Eisele joined the staff as the defensive coordinator in 1997 and was promoted to head coach before the 2000 season.

Eisele (23-18) already ranks fourth in school history in career victories after leading the 2003 squad to a 7-3 overall record and a third-place finish in the Midwest Conference standings.

The 2003 team finished the season ranked 23rd in the nation in total defense, 22nd in scoring defense, and 15th in defending the run. Lake Forest led the conference in sacks and turnover margin and ranked second in many other defensive categories. Junior David Bleitner became the second player under Eisele to earn MWC Defensive Player of the Year honors after ranking among the top five in the nation in both sacks and tackles for loss.

A dozen of the 2003 Foresters were named all-conference, including three first team selections. Bleitner also earned both all-region and All-American honors. In his four years as head coach, Eisele's players have earned 47 all-conference distinctions, four players have been named all-region, and two have been named All-Americans.

Lake Forest posted a 3-7 overall record and 3-6 conference mark in Eisele's first season at the helm of the program. In 2001, the Foresters improved to 4-6 overall and 4-4 in the MWC, tied for the program's best league mark since 1986. The team had 19 all-conference selections in the two seasons combined, including four first teamers. Eisele's squad broke out in 2002 by setting a school record with nine victories, claiming the Midwest Conference Championship, and advancing to the NCAA Playoffs for the first time in school history. Eisele was voted MWC Coach of the Year, 16 Lake Forest players were named to all-conference teams, three earned all-region recognition, and Casey Urlacher was an All-American.

The 2002 squad also put itself among the best in school history in various statistical categories. Defensively, the Foresters set new school records in rushing defense (84.6 ypg) and interceptions (24). The team also recorded 105 tackles for loss, the second-highest total in school history. On offense, the 24.8 points scored per game ranks fourth in school history. The 190 completions/receptions and 15 touchdown passes/catches rank second and third, respectively.

The 2000 Foresters averaged more than 200 rushing yards per game while the 2001 team set a school record with 200 completions/receptions. On defense, Lake Forest combined for 176 tackles for loss over the course of the two seasons.

During Eisele's three years as Lake Forest's defensive coordinator, the defense recorded two of the top three season sack totals in school history (38.0 in both 1998 and 1999, both tied for second) and broke the school record for tackles-for-loss in a season twice (79 in 1998 and 119 in 1999).

Lake Forest allowed 32.0 points per game in 1996, the year before Eisele's arrival. Over the next three seasons, the team allowed just 25.4 points per contest, including only 21.1 per game in 1998. Eisele remained the defensive coordinator for three years after taking over as head coach and the production from that side of the ball continued to improve. Lake Forest opponents scored just 21.3 points per game from 2000-02.

Eisele, a Peoria Richwoods High School alumnus and graduate of MWC-member Knox College, returned to the Midwest Conference and the state of Illinois after a three-year stint as defensive coordinator for Wayne State University, a NCAA Division II school in Detroit, MI. At Wayne State, he was part of the school's first back-to-back winning seasons in 20 years and directed a defense that improved in every defensive category each year he was at the school.

Prior to his experience at Wayne State, Eisele coached the defensive backs at his alma mater, Knox, for two seasons.

As an undergraduate at Knox, Eisele was a three-time All-Midwest Conference performer at defensive back while earning his B.A. degree in Political Science. While an undergraduate, he tied and is still the school's co-record holder for interceptions in a season with 7 picks in 1989.

Coach Eisele and his wife, Kathleen, reside in Gurnee, Illinois with their three children-Micayla, Jacob, and Jackson.