Bulldog Football Coaching Staff Elevates Olson and Ware
The University of Minnesota Duluth football program has announced title changes for two coaches currently on staff: Luke Olson, formerly the defensive back coach and recruiting coordinator will become the special teams coordinator and inside linebackers coach, while Mekhi Ware, formerly the cornerbacks coach, will become the secondary coach.
Olson has been with the Bulldogs for two seasons as the team's next defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator, a job he took over in January of 2023. Prior to joining the Bulldogs, Olson spent three years with the University of Sioux Falls (S.D.) as their defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator. A native of Plymouth, Minnesota, Olson has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota. Prior to Sioux Falls, Olson served as the defensive quality control coach at North Dakota State University, which captured the FCS National Championship in 2019 with a 16-0 record. He coordinated the scout offense and special teams during practice and led all scout offensive meetings.
From 2018-19, Olson was the cornerbacks coach/assistant special teams coordinator/video coordinator at Truman State University, and prior to that, worked at Doane University (Neb.) where he was secondary coach/recruiting coordinator/video coordinator for a team that made two NAIA Football Championship series appearances from 2014-18.
Ware joined the Bulldogs in January of 2024 and came from Midwestern State University where he served as graduate assistant defensive back coach in 2023. A varsity defensive back coach at Culver City High School in Culver City, Calf. in 2022, Ware served as a defensive player assistant at Indiana State in the spring of 2022.
A starting cornerback during his collegiate career at Indiana State from 2017-2021, Ware made six solo tackles and eight total tackles against Southern Illinois in his senior season, where he also broke up two passes for the Sycamores. In 2019, Ware broke up 11 passes and finished among the top-10 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference in pass deflections.
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