Ty Gregorak with Jessie Clark
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
Ty Gregorak Faces an Old Friend in NAU DC Andy Thompson Today
10/8/2016 1:07:00 PM | Football
Thompson is a former Gregorak protege at Montana
Echoes from a distant time and a different place will reverberate in Bobcat Stadium today, when defensive coordinators from Montana State and Northern Arizona greet each other.
The relationship between Ty Gregorak, in his first season at Montana State but one of the longest-tenured assistant coaches in the Big Sky Conference, and 12th-year Northern Arizona assistant Andy Thompson, who has assembled one of the top defenses in the league as the Lumberjacks' coordinator for the last eight years, has deep roots.
"My first year at Montana was his senior year," says Gregorak, who began his full-time college coaching career at Montana in 2003. "I remember he was a tough kid, a coaches kid, and we're from the same area (of Washington)."
While the coach-player phase of their relationship lasted just a few months, Thompson says that was prelude to what has come. "After I got done (Gregorak) really encouraged me to get into coaching," Thompson said. "I went to the national coaches convention with him and a couple times he let me sleep on his floor because I didn't have any money. We just developed a good friendship through all the years."
A standout at Montana, Thompson's coaching career began at Eastern Oregon in 2003. A year later he joined the staff at Northern Arizona under Jerome Souers, who like Thompson and Gregorak spent time at the University of Montana, and his career has blossomed. He coached running backs at NAU for two seasons, moved to the defense to coach linebackers and special teams in 2007, and in 2009 took over as defensive coordinator.
Gregorak's career was following a similar path at Montana, where he coached linebackers from for eight seasons before becoming the program's defensive coordinator in 2011. From afar, and during occasional matchups against the Lumberjacks, the one-time mentor has admired his Thompson's work. I think he's done a good job, and I feel like he puts a really good product on the field," Gregorak says.
While Gregorak doesn't consider himself a strong influence on Thompson's success or style, his description of Thompson mirrors how many describe Gregorak. "His teams play hard, they play really smart," he said.
Thompson has seen Gregorak's coaching from as close a vantage point as possible, and also from afar. The Xs and Os of football are not what has stayed with him. "I think he does a really good job of getting his guys to play extremely hard," Thompson said. "That's something I've always tried to do here, get the guys to play with a lot of passion, a lot of energy, and give it their best every time out. When you look at his defenses, that's what they're doing."
Bobcat coach Jeff Choate, whose admiration for his current defensive coordinator is well-established, also respects the job done by Gregorak's long-ago protégé. "They play a lot of snaps in their base (defense)," Choate says, "but when it's time to go they get after it. And it's some exotic stuff, not just the standard blitzes everyone uses. (Thompson) has been there for a long time so there's great continuity there, and he does an excellent job."
Gregorak's praise for Thompson is unusually succinct. "I love Andy," he says. "He's a good friend of mine."
The relationship between Ty Gregorak, in his first season at Montana State but one of the longest-tenured assistant coaches in the Big Sky Conference, and 12th-year Northern Arizona assistant Andy Thompson, who has assembled one of the top defenses in the league as the Lumberjacks' coordinator for the last eight years, has deep roots.
"My first year at Montana was his senior year," says Gregorak, who began his full-time college coaching career at Montana in 2003. "I remember he was a tough kid, a coaches kid, and we're from the same area (of Washington)."
While the coach-player phase of their relationship lasted just a few months, Thompson says that was prelude to what has come. "After I got done (Gregorak) really encouraged me to get into coaching," Thompson said. "I went to the national coaches convention with him and a couple times he let me sleep on his floor because I didn't have any money. We just developed a good friendship through all the years."
A standout at Montana, Thompson's coaching career began at Eastern Oregon in 2003. A year later he joined the staff at Northern Arizona under Jerome Souers, who like Thompson and Gregorak spent time at the University of Montana, and his career has blossomed. He coached running backs at NAU for two seasons, moved to the defense to coach linebackers and special teams in 2007, and in 2009 took over as defensive coordinator.
Gregorak's career was following a similar path at Montana, where he coached linebackers from for eight seasons before becoming the program's defensive coordinator in 2011. From afar, and during occasional matchups against the Lumberjacks, the one-time mentor has admired his Thompson's work. I think he's done a good job, and I feel like he puts a really good product on the field," Gregorak says.
While Gregorak doesn't consider himself a strong influence on Thompson's success or style, his description of Thompson mirrors how many describe Gregorak. "His teams play hard, they play really smart," he said.
Thompson has seen Gregorak's coaching from as close a vantage point as possible, and also from afar. The Xs and Os of football are not what has stayed with him. "I think he does a really good job of getting his guys to play extremely hard," Thompson said. "That's something I've always tried to do here, get the guys to play with a lot of passion, a lot of energy, and give it their best every time out. When you look at his defenses, that's what they're doing."
Bobcat coach Jeff Choate, whose admiration for his current defensive coordinator is well-established, also respects the job done by Gregorak's long-ago protégé. "They play a lot of snaps in their base (defense)," Choate says, "but when it's time to go they get after it. And it's some exotic stuff, not just the standard blitzes everyone uses. (Thompson) has been there for a long time so there's great continuity there, and he does an excellent job."
Gregorak's praise for Thompson is unusually succinct. "I love Andy," he says. "He's a good friend of mine."
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