Football Nicolle Holcomb
- Eastern New Mexico football head coach, Tye Hiatt, recently announced the completion of his offensive and defensive coordinator staff for the upcoming 2021 season.
“I am excited to announce that Anthony Vitale will serve as our Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach and Russell Thompson will serve as our Defensive Coordinator. Both coaches have coached at multiple levels and will help our program perform at the level needed to compete in the Lone Star,” said Hiatt.
Anthony Vitale will join the Greyhounds as the offensive coordinator/offensive line coach. When asked about Vitale’s hiring, Hiatt said, “When looking for an offensive coordinator I knew I wanted someone detailed, fundamentally sound and someone that could allow us to win the line of scrimmage. I believe Anthony is that and more. He is a great recruiter and has strong ties in our region and the state of Texas. He is a technician with offensive line play and I believe he will develop our offense to play at a high level.”
Vitale comes to Eastern from Delaware State University where he was an offensive line coach from 2018-2020. While at Delaware State, he helped the team from last to second in the MEAC in rushing offense and reduced the amount of sacks by sixty percent from the 2017 season.
From 2017-2019, Vitale was a guest offensive line coach for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL, where he assisted with drills, practice planning, and film breakdown.
Prior to his time at Delaware State, Vitale was an offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at Southwest Baptist University from 2013-2018. He helped the team improve from 1-10 in 2013 to 10-2 and a national ranking of 17 in 2016. Vitale coached eight student-athletes to all-conference honors and one to All-American honors in his time with the Bearcats.
He spent 2012-2013 as an offensive graduate assistant and assistant offensive line coach at Lindenwood University and was the offensive line coach and video coordinator at Notre Dame High School from 2000-2012.
Vitale holds a bachelor of science degree in business from the University of Redlands and is in the process of earning an MBA in finance from Redlands as well.
Russell Thompson will continue his role as the Greyhounds’ defensive coordinator, a position he has held since 2020. Thompson came on board during the cancellation of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 so the 2021 season will be his first on the sideline as the Hounds return to regular competition.
“Russell brings a wealth of experience to our coaching staff and that is something that I was looking for with our defensive coordinator. He is competitive, detailed in his coaching and a relentless recruiter. I know that he will develop our current roster and help bring in the type of young men that we need in this program,” said Hiatt.
Thompson came to Eastern after serving the previous three seasons as the head coach at Cisco College in Cisco, Texas, leading the Wranglers to a no. 17 ranking in the National Junior College Athletic Association Polls in both 2018 and 2019. The program defeated five nationally-ranked opponents in 2018 and 2019 with Thompson at the helm and accumulated a record of 10-8 over his final two seasons at Cisco after the program won a total of nine games in the five seasons prior to his arrival.
Prior to turning around the program at Cisco College, Thompson spent six years as the defensive coordinator at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas from 2011-16. The Apaches advanced to the SWJCFC Championship Game twice with Thompson on staff, and defeated perennial power Garden City Community College in the 2013 Football Capital of Kansas Bowl.
He mentored a pair of Honorable Mention NJCAA All-Americans during his time as Tyler Junior College in Joshua Wheeler and Somari Wright.
His first stint as a defensive coordinator came at Kilgore Junior College from 2007-10, during which time Thompson had a hand in developing Kilgore as a premier program in the junior college ranks. The program advanced to the SWJCFC Playoffs in all four seasons that he guided the defensive unit.
He returns to the NCAA Division II ranks with the Greyhounds after spending time on the staffs at West Texas A&M in 2004 and East Central University from 1997-98. In total Thompson will brings 23 years of coaching experience to the Eastern New Mexico sideline.
He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from East Central University and holds a master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from West Texas A&M University.
