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After reviving the Olivet Comets football program from 0-10 in 2012 to 9-2 in 2016 in five years, Dan Pifer will no longer be leading the Olivet Comets football team. Taking his place is Dan “Moose” Musielewicz, who has spent the last five seasons with the Comets as the offensive and recruiting coordinator on Pifer’s staff.
Pifer resigned from the Olivet head coaching position in December 2016 to accept an offer from Division II school Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio, becoming the third head coach of the Cavaliers football program’s history, according to Walsh University’s athletic web site. Pifer left having turned around a program that went 2-48 in five years from 2008-2012 to a football powerhouse with Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) conference championships in the past two seasons.
Olivet College Athletic Director Ryan Shockey is a big supporter of Musielewicz’s ability to lead the Comets.
“When we have success, we should always look inside and see if you have anybody that can continue the success and that is where we found Coach Musielewicz,”
Shockey said in a sit down interview.
Before landing in Olivet, he coached the wide receivers at Trine University in Angola, Indiana, from 2006-2011; helping the Thunder to three consecutive MIAA conference championships from 2008-2010 in route to three straight trips to the NCAA Division III playoffs, advancing to the second round in 2009 and 2010 according to olivetcomets.com.
Musielewicz is eager to begin his tenure at the helm for the Comet football program. “I am definitely getting my feet underneath me; there are a lot of new aspects to the program that fall under your umbrella as you become the head coach and the complexity of what you are responsible for and what you need to do on an operating day by day basis,” Musielewicz said in a sit down interview. “Coach Pifer was great in the transition which is fantastic; leaving a lot of the organizational work behind and the communication of you need to do this and this and the contacts you need to put together to operate our program in the different aspects. Having worked for him for five years and putting myself in this position of what would I do here if I were head coach definitely helps that transition.”
Before his stop at Trine, Musielewicz served as assistant football coach in 2005 at Tecumseh High School in addition to assistant basketball coach for the 2005-2006 season at Tecumseh. Musielewicz, a native of Britton, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, physical education and integrated science from Hillsdale College in 2005 where he played football for the Chargers as a wide receiver. He also played basketball for one season for the Chargers, according to olivetcomets.com.
After his collegiate career, Musielewicz played five seasons of professional arena football. Musielewicz also earned his master’s degree in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia University in California in May 2012, according to olivetcomets.com.
Sophomore quarterback Lane Porter, who will be in his junior season this fall, is excited about what the 2017 season holds under Musielewicz. “I am very excited for this upcoming season. I always loved his energy on and off the field, even when he was recruiting me out of high school he had my attention, from when he introduced himself and shook my hand,” said Porter. “This upcoming season will be a test for sure because all of the seniors of the first recruiting class are gone, so other players will need to step into those roles, but, I have no worries about those players getting the job done. If we just focus on ourselves as individuals and what we have to do each and every play, we’ll be absolutely fine, and we will bring another conference championship back to Olivet College.”
