MacMurray's Bell Takes Scot Football Reins

Release Date: December 30 , 1999

Stephen Bell, who served as offensive coordinator for the nation’s highest-scoring Division III team in 1998, has been named the head football coach at Monmouth College.

Bell accomplished the feat at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, where he has coached the past five years. He will replace Kelly Kane, who resigned as the Fighting Scots’ coach following the 1999 season after compiling a 71-78 record over 16 years.

An extensive search was conducted following Kane’s Nov. 17 announcement, and Monmouth athletic director Terry Glasgow said he was pleased with the process.

"We conducted the search coast-to-coast, and Steve Bell became the obvious candidate," said Glasgow. "He’s very enthusiastic, very energetic and he fits the billing to a tee.

"We’re extremely excited that Steve Bell has accepted the position of head football coach at Monmouth College."

"It’s a good fit," said Bell, referring to the program’s Division III status and also to the size of the Monmouth community. "The campus is beautiful and I feel there’s a great chance for student-athletes at Monmouth College to be successful on and off the field."

For the past two seasons, Bell has also served as MacMurray’s assistant head coach under Bob Frey, who played at Division III national powerhouse Mt. Union College.

"I’m just happy to see that he’s going to a quality program," said Frey, who began his coaching career at MacMurray with the 1995 season, the same year Bell started. "He’s an excellent offensive coach and an excellent football coach. He’s also a great recruiter, and he’s been a good friend. "Obviously, we’re going to miss him, but it’s good to see when people you work with advance. (Monmouth is) getting a great coach, and he’s an even better person than he is a coach, if that’s possible."

Together, Frey and Bell led the Highlanders to numerous team records, including the 1998 season, when MacMurray scored 48 points per game and finished the season ranked 15th in the nation with a record of 9-1. The season before, Bell’s offense included the nation’s leading rusher, Jamie Lee.

"I like to run a very balanced offense," said Bell, who primarily uses the multiple-I formation. "I like the offense to be very efficient, so I stress ball control and taking care of the football, especially when we’re in the red zone.

"My quarterback’s probably not going to drop back and throw 50 times a game, but I do like to have fun in the passing game," added Bell, who was an all-conference signal-caller and punter in 1989 and 1990 at Division II Bemidji State University in Minnesota.

The coach is no stranger to Monmouth, directing the Highlanders’ offense in three wins against the Scots from 1995-97, including a 48-14 victory at Bobby Woll Field in 1996.

"I’ve always been impressed with the type of athletes that Monmouth has," Bell said. "Every season, I would reiterate to our guys that the Monmouth game would be one of the hardest-hitting of the year. That’s how we looked at Monmouth."

Bell also worked with the special teams in his stint at MacMurray and at Bemidji State, where he coached from 1992-94. His primary focus at the latter school was coaching the quarterbacks and wide receivers.

Teaching physical education courses at Monmouth will also be part of Bell’s duties, and he holds a master’s and a B.S. degree in the field, obtaining both at Bemidji State. He came to Bemidji from Mesabi Community College in Virginia, Minn., where he was an all-region, all-state and all-conference performer.