WAVERLY - Dan Bauder received the phone call from Eric Koehler the morning of July 27.

Three weeks before the Wartburg College football team was to report for camp, Koehler broke the news to Bauder that he was leaving to take the offensive coordinator position at Division II power Grand Valley State.

"When he told me he was offered a job, I'm like, 'You're not going to take it, you're not going to take it,'" Bauder recalled.

But after Bauder and the Knights learned whom Koehler's replacement would be, the initial shock was replaced by excitement.

Rick Willis, who compiled a 79-17 record and directed Wartburg to four NCAA Division III playoff berths from 1997-2005, was returning for a second stint.

"We couldn't have asked for anything better," Wartburg cornerback Josh Faaborg said Wednesday during the team's media day. "With his success and history in the program, it couldn't have been a smoother transition for us.

"His reputation alone was enough to give us confidence in him."

To further ease the transition, Willis - still serving as the school's director of athletics - recruited and coached this year's senior class of 22 as freshmen.

Trust had already been established, and those seniors helped prep the underclassmen on what to expect before fall camp.

"For the younger guys, Coach Willis was just a guy sitting up in the athletic office," safety Marcus Hemesath said. "It was important our seniors made our younger guys understand what a good coach he was."

Willis said it's been a seamless transition. The Knights will continue to run the same offensive and defensive schemes as before.

"In large part, it's just a different person doing the talking," Willis said. "The things we believe in and things that we do haven't really changed here since 1997."

Bauder admitted the two coaches have contrasting personalities. While Koehler was more interactive with each player and how their performance would impact the team, Willis stresses unity.

Regardless, both have a strong desire to win.

"We knew coach Willis wanted to coach again," tight end Ryan Hoerner said. "He's an intense coach that will take us to where we want to go."

That is an Iowa Conference championship and a return to the playoffs.

Wartburg, the preseason favorite, hasn't captured the league crown since 2004. In fact, the Knights have gone 8-2 each of the past two seasons. They are 13-3 during that span in IIAC play, losing two overtime games and a last-second tilt to Central last year in the season finale.

The Knights, who will scrimmage at Wisconsin-Platteville today, have a difficult stretch to start the season. After opening Sept. 6 against St. Norbert, which was 10-1 and a playoff team last year, Wartburg tries to avenge its two defeats from 2007 at Augsburg and at Central the next two weeks.

"This senior group is a focused, hungry group," Willis said. "They want to do everything they can to get themselves a championship before they leave here."

The players believe Willis is the coach to get them over the top.

"He has won a ton of games here, and there's no doubt in any of our minds he's going to do just as good of a job, if not better, and get us over the hump," quarterback Nick Yordi said.

During his first stint, Willis' time was more devoted to defense. But with eight starters back on defense and a new offensive coordinator, Tim Morrison, Willis plans to dabble more in the offense.

"He developed our system," Hemesath said. "The way things worked out, it worked out in the best possible way for us. We're excited to play for him."

Contact Matt Coss at (319) 291-1468 or matt.coss@wcfcourier.com

2008 schedule

Sept. 6 - St. Norbert, 1 p.m.

Sept. 13 - at Augsburg, 7 p.m.

Sept. 20 - at Central, 1 p.m.

Sept. 27 - Cornell, 1 p.m.

Oct. 4 - at Buena Vista, 1 p.m.

Oct. 11 - at Coe, 1 p.m.

Oct. 18 - Loras, 1:30 p.m.

Oct. 25 - at Simpson, 1 p.m.

Nov. 1 - Luther, 1 p.m.

Nov. 8 - Dubuque, 1 p.m.

IIAC preseason poll

Team (first-place votes) Pts.

1. Wartburg (5) 69

2. Central (4) 68

3. Coe 53

4. Dubuque 51

5. Simpson 47

6. Loras 32

7. Luther 31

8. Buena Vista 29

9. Cornell 16