Stevenson University football coach Ed Hottle recently announced that he is stepping down after 15 seasons with the program to pursue a new opportunity.
Hottle, 53, said the decision has marked a strange and meaningful transition for him now that he is Stevenson’s former coach.
“To hear former is interesting, for sure. I think that’s the first time I’ve heard that one,” he said on Glenn Clark Radio Feb. 17.
Hottle took a job overseeing rec and adult sports for Anne Arundel County Recreation and Parks. He said Stevenson was always “going to be the last job, or at least the last football job.”
Hottle, the first head coach in Stevenson football history, is leaving after building the program from the ground up. He posted a record of 88-63, with 10 consecutive postseason appearances dating back to a Middle Atlantic Conference title in 2016. In addition to being head coach, Hottle also served as an assistant athletic director for the university.
Under Hottle’s leadership, the Mustangs quickly turned from a startup program to a consistent postseason participant. The former coach said the program’s core mission went beyond just football.
“Any college coach will tell you it’s graduation day that makes you the most excited and the lives we’ve been able to impact,” he said.
One of the most memorable on-field moments, Hottle said, was a victory against Christopher Newport in the program’s first-ever home game in 2011 that validated the program.
“At that point, Christopher Newport was a perennial playoff team. They were good. They were really, really good. We had a great night that night,” he said.
Hottle said he is confident in the future of the program. Offensive coordinator Josh Hoeg has taken over as head coach after years of helping with personnel, recruiting strategy and in-game decision-making and the like.
Hoeg, who has been the offensive coordinator for the team since 2019, brings a lot of postseason and championship experience to his new role. Before coaching for the Mustangs, Hoeg spent seven seasons with Division II Gannon and four seasons with Division III Wabash College.
“It makes me feel really, really good that he’s the guy,” Hottle said of Hoeg. “That was my biggest concern, worry. I don’t know that that’s the right word, but I was certainly in his corner pulling for him. … He’s a great guy and he’s going to do awesome, awesome things over there.”
Hottle is now going to transition to his new role with Anne Arundel County Recreation and Parks.
“Life goes full circle, kind of back to where football started for me back at the rec level,” he said. “Being involved at the recreational level, being involved in the grass roots of growing the game of football, I’m excited to kind of get back to that.”
For more from Hottle, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Stevenson Athletics