Named to the position on Jan. 5, new head man Matt Janus announced two of his top assistant coaches on Friday afternoon during Janus’ introductory news conference.

They will be his top coordinators, Ryan Bright as defensive coordinator and Peter “Boomer” Roepke as offensive coordinator.

Here are biographical sketches of each coordinator:

Ryan Bright

ROEPKE

He has coached collegiately for nearly a decade, with stops in the Big Ten, Pac-12 and Southeastern Conference.

Most recently had was on the defensive staff at the SEC’s University of Arkansas, working with safeties, nickels and linebackers. He is listed in the Razorbacks’ online media guide with the positions of assistant with linebackers and defensive quality control.

Bright helped Arkansas’ defense made significant improvement in 2024, when its national rushing defensive ranking rose from 76th to 35th. Also that year, the Razorbacks won the Liberty Bowl and earned their first win over a top-five opponent since 2007.

This past season, he also served as interim linebackers coach starting at midseason as inside LB Xavian Sorey earned an invitation to the Senior Bowl.

In 2023, Bright was a defensive analyst at Stanford, working with outside linebackers during a season the Cardinal picked up notable wins over Colorado and Washington State.

His longest tenure came at the University of Wisconsin from 2018-23, where his positions included defensive graduate assistant and defensive analyst with inside linebackers.

During that time, the Badgers were consistently one of the nation’s top defenses, including ranked No. 1 in total defense and rushing defense in 2021. UW also won multiple bowl games in that time, with several linebackers earning All-Big Ten and All-America honors.

Bright began coaching at NCAA Division III St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin, as quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator before moving on to Wisconsin-La Crosse, his head coach’s previous school, coaching tight ends and fullbacks at La Crosse.

He played collegiately at UW-La Crosse and Wisconsin-Stout, and holds a bachelor’s degree from UW-La Crosse and master’s degree from Wisconsin-Madison.

Peter Roepke

Like Bright, he also has extensive coaching experience at a variety of collegiate levels in all three NCAA divisions and in junior college.

Roepke, 36, has worked in offensive coordination, quarterback development, recruiting and football operations, with a track record of building potent offenses and fostering player development.

This fall, he wore multiple hats as interim head coach, offensive coordinator, offensive line coach and director of football operations at Division II and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference member Concordia-St. Paul in St. Paul, Minnesota.

From 2020-24, he was associate head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Division III Northwestern-St. Paul, also in St. Paul, Minnesota. He helped lead that program to undefeated conference championships in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference in 2022 and 2024, along with D-III playoff appearances.

Roepke’s offenses averaged more than 41 points per game in conference games in 2024 with multiple record-breaking individual performances.

He also emphasized academics and personal development, starting a comprehensive grade-check and mentorship program that significantly improved student-athlete retention and produced honored scholar-athletes. Recruiting efforts grew roster size, program diversity and brought in the largest numbers of players in school history.

In Division I, he was at Iowa State of the Big 12 from 2017-20 as an offensive graduate assistant working with quarterbacks and special teams, while from 2013-16 he was a graduate student coach at the University of Southern California.

Roepke has also coached at Pasadena (California) City College, contributing to player development and helping student-athletes advance to Division I.

He was an athlete at USC, earning varsity letters in football and swimming, and was named the school’s Walk-On Player of the Year in 2011. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from USC.

Story contents based on Northern Michigan University Sports Information press release reviewing/previewing the games/meet. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.