Bob Stitt is back at Mines.
The 60-year-old Stitt, who put the Orediggers on the college gridiron map two decades ago, is returning to the program as head football coach, the university announced Friday morning.
“There is no doubt in my mind this is the best job in Division II football, and I take the responsibility of maintaining the football excellence that has been established here very seriously,” Stitt said via a Mines news release. “Our staff will work diligently to put our players in a position to win championships at the highest level each and every season.”
Stitt is the all-time leader in wins at Mines, having posted a record of 108-62 over 15 seasons at the helm (2000-14). His initial tenure is marked by a run of historic firsts in Golden, having led the Orediggers in 2004 to their first RMAC title in 46 years and steering Mines to its first NCAA championship berth and first postseason victory.
He won two more league titles (2010, 2014) before leaving the program to take the head coaching post at Montana, where he posted a 21-14 mark over three seasons with the Grizz.
The Nebraska native worked as an offensive analyst at Oklahoma State in 2018 and was Texas State’s offensive coordinator in 2019. He joined Valor Christian as offensive coordinator under longtime friend Bret McGatlin last fall. McGatlin resigned last month, and roughly a week after that, the Mines job opened up for the second time in three years when Pete Sterbick, who had a 22-4 record in two seasons with the Orediggers, left to take the offensive coordinator position at Montana State.
Stitt met with Mines players on Friday, the university said, and will be formally introduced at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.