CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois head football coach Nick Hill announced a series of coaching staff promotions within the program on Tuesday.
On the defensive side of the ball, Hill promoted safeties coach Lee Pronschinske to defensive coordinator. Last season under Pronschinske, the Salukis had a pair of all-conference safeties (Ubayd Steed and Iverson Brown).
“Coach Pron is a young, rising star in our profession,” Hill said. “Working with him the past year, he communicates really well and is a highly detailed guy. He has the advantage of being here and seeing how the roster pieces fit into the scheme he wants to run and being able to attack that in recruiting, as well.”
Hill named Darius Davis as the new coach of the defensive line. Davis spent the last four seasons on the staff at Robert Morris and coached incoming transfer defensive tackle Bernadin Fleurima Jr. He also previously coached at Division II Findlay and Division III College of Wooster.
“When you look at his resume, he’s come up through the ranks,” Hill said. “I love hiring guys who have been at lower levels, where it pushes you to learn how to teach and coach and do more with less. His colleagues rave about the person he is and the connections he builds with players.”
On the offensive side, Hill announced he will return to the dual role of head coach and offensive coordinator. The model has proved highly successful throughout his eight-year tenure at SIU, which includes three playoff appearances in the last five seasons.
“I’m excited to get back into that role – obviously, I’ve called plays for a lot of my career,” Hill said. “I enjoy running those meetings as we put together a game plan, working even more closely with the quarterbacks. It’s a passion of mine.”
Hill elevated offensive assistant Ryan McVicker to quarterbacks coach.
“Based on the work he’s put in, I don’t think there’s anyone more deserving than Ryan to get his first full-time coaching position here,” Hill said. “For me to be the coordinator, I had to have Ryan. There’s not much that I know, that Ryan doesn’t know. He knows how I operate and the expectations – it was just an easy transition.”
Hill said graduate assistant Michael Lindauer, who came out of retirement to quarterback the Salukis at the end of 2024, will assist with the offense this season.
“Mike will work alongside Ryan and I out of the quarterback room,” Hill said. “Obviously, him playing last season, he has a good grasp of the offense. Just his maturity and demeanor and how he relates with the players, he has a bright future as a coach.”
Hill also announced promotions within his administrative team, including Chris Gillespie (Director of Operations), Devin Williams (Video Coordinator) and Jacqueline Crain (Graduate Assistant).
On Gillespie:
“Chris is really my right-hand person and does so much for our program. There’s never a job too big or too small for him. He gets our guys into the community. He’s in operations, but that’s really all-encompassing – I like to call him the general manager.”
On Williams:
“Devin has traveled with our team for several years, put in the long hours and has proved that he’s someone you can rely on. From practice film to game film to cut-ups, he understands all of the needs we have in terms of video.”
On Crain:
“I’ve known her for a long time and she’s done so much for our program. She’s worked here as a student, works alongside Chris with operations, she leads our FCA. I think everybody sees how hard she works and how she makes our program better.”
On the staff as a whole:
“We talk about player culture all the time, but you have to have a great coaching staff culture, as well. With hiring staff, it’s really about how you can affect the player, better their lives and build deep relationships.”
