Luther College (D-III - IA) has announced that Caleb Padilla will not return to lead the program after a four-year run.
After a proud 6-4 finish under previous head coach Aaron Hafner in 2017 (when Padilla served as the team's defensive coordinator), the Luther program has struggled to find wins the past few seasons.
Padilla took over heading into the 2018 season, and the Norse went 1-9 for his first two seasons. The program had four games scheduled for the spring 2021 season following the COVID-impacted 2020 fall, and they were able to just get one game in (a loss), while the other three ended up being cancelled.
This past fall, Luther finished 0-10, which brought Padilla's total record with the program to 2-29 overall.
In his three seasons as defensive coordinator before being tabbed to take over the program, Padilla's defenses improved each year, including the 2017 season where they led the league in pass defense and finished second in total defense.
That year, they finished the highest the school had in the Iowa Conference standings in over two decades.
In the school's announcement of the change, they list four assistant coaches that will step in to lead the program as the search begins. Those coaches stepping up are Raven Battle (DC / DL), Brian Frana (OC / OL), Tim Yourison (AHC / STC / LBs), and Erik Maath (PGC / QBs).
A national search is underway for the new leader of the program.