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MTU’s Mettlach names football assistant coach

By Steve Brownlee 2 min read

MARQUETTE -- A well-traveled coach has returned to the Michigan Tech football program to be an assistant under Huskies head coach and Gwinn native Dan Mettlach.

Bryan Parker was named MTU wide receivers coach on July 1 after serving on the Tech staff in 2021 and the preseason of 2022 as the outside linebackers coach.

Since then, he has been on the staffs of four NCAA Division I programs -- in 2022 as a graduate assistant at Kent State, the spring of 2023 as inside wide receivers coach at Austin Peay, in the 2023 and 2024 seasons at Valparaiso, and in 2025 as a defensive analyst at Coastal Carolina.

Previous to his first Huskies' stint, the Fontana, Wisconsin, native coached at Elkhorn, Wisconsin, High School with wide receivers, defensive backs and coordinating special teams.

"We are very excited to welcome Brian back to our staff," said Mettlach, who took over the MTU head coaching job soon after the 2022 season finished. "His familiarity with our program and Michigan Tech as a whole will be a tremendous benefit for us."

Parker has a degree from Indiana University, where he also played wide receiver and returned kicks in the Big Ten in 2019-20 under current Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer.

Mettlach, who starred as a football player at Gwinn High School before graduating in 2000, is regarded as one of the top quarterbacks in a century of Huskies' football, playing for MTU from 2001-04 and being named an All-American, 2004 Player of the Year in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and twice an All-GLIAC pick.

Last season, Mettlach was voted GLIAC Coach of the Year after posting 7-4 overall and 4-3 GLIAC records, placing fourth behind league and national champion Ferris State.

Among his coaching stops before coming to MTU in 2017 and serving as offensive coordinator, assistant head coach, associate head coach and head coach, Mettlach was an assistant at Northern Michigan University from 2007-09.

He resides in Hancock with his wife Sara and their daughters Claire and Allison.

Story contents based on a Michigan Tech University Sports Information press release reviewing the news. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee's email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.

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