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NSIC tested Aldrich desires competitiveness for MSU football

The second candidate vying for the vacant head coaching position at Minot State University talked to the public and media members Wednesday evening with a rather distinct qualification of his resume.

Mike Aldrich, former associate head coach at Southwest Minnesota State, defensive coordinator at Wayne State (Neb.) and the head coach at Augustana before that, is the only applicant out of three that has prior experience coaching in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

“Either I don’t fit the cookie cutter and I’m the black sheep or (I’ll have) the substantial edge in knowledge of the area and the competition of Minot State in general,” Aldrich said. “Having played against Minot in two of the last three years and just having the general idea of the way the league fits together – who is good, who is bad and how you want to attack certain things – and knowing the teams we are going to play, which helps quite a bit by already knowing their identities, will give you a little bit of a heads up on preparing each week.”

Minot State, since moving to the NSIC in 2012, has won 10 conference games in five seasons. Aldrich expressed multiple times during the meet and greet event that his primary goal for the program starts with competitiveness and the wins would follow accordingly.

Having coached in the NSIC for over a decade at various positions and was also named the 2016 AFCA Division II Assistant Coach of the Year, Aldrich pinpointed having that competitive nature is the key to having success in the conference.

“In five years, the way I would see the team is you have a bunch of great, high character, respectable young men that are going to compete, fight in every game and have a chance to win every game,” Aldrich said. “If they do the little things right, I think we are going to have a bunch of wins under our belt. A lot more than what they are accustomed to. I think more people are going to know about Minot State football.”

Aldrich was in the running to be MSU’s football head coach three years ago, before the Beavers most recent head coach Tyler Hughes eventually got the job. Hughes resigned Dec. 23, 2016 to pursue business endeavors.

Recruiting wise, Aldrich’s stance focused on finding talent in the Northern Sun conference region – North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, etc. He also mentioned metropolitan areas such as Minneapolis and Denver, and looking north to the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Overall, looking at places in which the recruits’ parents, family and friends could get on a short direct flight to Minot and easily attend games.

As for the local area kids around the state, Aldrich said they fit into his regional plans as well.

“It’s paramount to not just recruit North Dakota, but to recruit the region,” Aldrich said. “North Dakota is important and it would be vitally important to get out and meet every high school coach in North Dakota. But I think that the region in general, that’s more of how we want to look at it than just North Dakota.”

Aldrich, if offered the job, won’t have the luxury to influence the recruiting class for the upcoming season because National Signing Day is on Wednesday. That said, he gave credit to the current staff for their efforts in keeping together a “positive and encouraging” class in the midst of a coaching change.

When asked for what his recruiting pitch would be to get kids to come to MSU, Aldrich laid out the foundation that there is an opportunity here to do something that has never been done before.

“You want to join that team and just be another number? Or, do you want to come (here) and do something special?” Aldrich said. “Do you want to cross off those nevers? And that’s what we want to do going forward.”

The timetable for how long Aldrich sees himself staying in Minot if offered the job was left open ended.

“It’s kind of a loaded question whenever you ask a coach about how long he is going to be there,” Aldrich said. “Really, for me, at any place I’ve ever been at has never had an end date. I’m driving down the road looking out the windshield. I don’t know when the turn is going to be and I don’t know where the stops are going to be. And sometimes it’s when I want to make the turn and sometimes it’s when the road forces me off.”

All Aldrich can hope for now is the opportunity to be a head coach once again.

“Yeah, it’s a strong drive,” Aldrich said about becoming a head coach again. “It has got to be the right fit, not just for me but for my family. And it has to be a place like Minot State where I think we can be good. I really do. I think once you’re good, then you can get to being great. If I didn’t, then I wouldn’t be here.”

Patrick Ross, former head coach at Lindenwood University, concludes the on-campus interview process on Friday. Jerry Partridge, former head coach at Missouri Western State, was interviewed on Monday.

Alex Eisen covers Minot High School, Minot State athletics and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.

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