Bachman taking over as Jaguar football coach

Veteran coach will be the fifth coach in a half century

Marc “Woody” Bachman first picked up a phone call from then Jefferson football coach Tim Carlson two springs ago who wondered if Bachman, a veteran coach with more than 30 years of experience, would consider a defensive coordinator role for the 2022 season.

Two years later, Bachman was named only the fifth coach in six decades of Jaguars football (the others include Bruno Waldner, Stan Skjei, Jon Leverenz and Tim Carlson) and welcomes the challenge coming off a run to the Section 3, Class 5A final.

Bachman commented on a Facebook post announcing his hiring saying how honored he is, “to carry on the tradition of Jefferson Football. Everyone I have met, the players, coaches, parents/boosters and administration have been amazing since I joined Jag Football two years ago. And, I love the band!”

Bloomington to St. Peter and back

Bachman’s path to the Jaguars is a complete journey at various prep and college levels, even at the administrative level as part of the Minnesota Football Coaches Association Board of Directors as secretary and was an MFCA Distinguished Service Award Recipient in 2023.

With 37 seasons of coaching under his belt, Bachman spent 30 years as a football, basketball, girls hockey and track coach at St. Peter High School. In 2008 he was hired to oversee maintenance and operations in St. Peter before retiring from the district in August 2022.

A Fairmont High School grad (class of 1984), Bachman and wife of 33 years Wendy (a Jefferson grad) have four adult children: Beau (Estee), Alina, Chloe and Avery and one grandchild.

After retiring, Bachman was looking for a way to be more involved with students and coaching again. After building a house and serving as church president, Bachman was, “getting further away from kids.”

“I was interested in getting back to working with kids, mentoring coaches and so I told Tim, ‘Sure, let’s do it,’” Bachman said about the phone call leading into the spring of 2021.

“Tim ran such a great program where the kids are great, the coaching staff is just really strong and easy to work with and to be honest I had to no intention to be a head coach again but no one wanted to take on the role and since I have time to do it, I threw my hat in because I want to keep the momentum we have going.”

Right place

During the interview process, Bachman explained how coaching legend at UCLA John Wooden didn’t win his first NCAA national title until his 16th season.

“Being called a coach is a compliment to me,” Bachman said having a front-row seat to some of the best coaches in the state starting with MFCA Hall of Fame Coach Tom Mahoney in high school at Fairmont. Before joining the St. Peter staff, Bachman coached under Steve Byrne at Gustavus and Chuck Rogers at Eden Prairie before joining Jack Osberg’s staff at Augsburg University.

“I learned an incredible amount,” he said before joining St. Peter MFCA HoF coach Frank Fredlund. “The biggest thing I learned from them was learning how to make the overall picture small enough for the kids to believe it.”

Bachman was part of four South Central Conference titles, and three state tournament appearances including the Class A runner-up in 1995. He was head coach of the Saints from 1997-2009. In 2010 he returned to Gustavus as an assistant defensive coach, head strength coach, and co-special teams coordinator. He took over Makato Loyola as head coach in 2016 and 2017 before their cooperative merger with St. Clair and returned to the Gustavus staff before joining the Jaguars staff.

As a student coach at Gustavus under head coach Denny Raarup (99 wins in 16 seasons, 1971-87), Bachman took some sage advice to heart when figuring out plans. “A wise person said, ‘Who do you want to be like?’ That was easy – my high school coaches. They were a great group, we all got along and were positive. I feel fortunate to never be coached by a real yeller or someone who curses all the time and I try to mentor that way.”

Bachman was a big part of the Minnesota Football Coaches Association Executive Committee working with youth football programs and making sure everyone was safe and the game continued to grow in the 2010s. He served as the constitution and by-laws chair in 2008.

Coaching a modern program entails more than the Xs and Os on the gridiron. “We are not going to shy away from that but it is daunting even with volunteers but we have to create opportunities to grow outside of football – Wounded Warrior, placing flags at Fort Snelling National Cemetary for Memorial Day,” Bachman said. “Tim taught the whole person how to be successful in life and how to give back to other people, we are in the same mold.”

Beyond the gridiron

Before joining the Jaguars staff, Bachman and his family lived near Bloomington Stadium (83rd Street/Aldrich Avenue). His kids grew up with Bloomington Athletic Association before moving to St. Peter.

“We could hear the band on Friday Nights playing at Bloomington Stadium and what we have learned is Jefferson Football is just entertainment part football part band, even when they would rehearse all week it was great to hear them,” he said. “We have the infrastructure in place and are very fortunate to have the administration in place to be supportive of the program and boosters do so much to support the program.

“During two-a-days last season, they had a protein bar ready to go for every kid. That’s not normal and on top of that the caliber of kids at Jefferson is phenomenal and I consider myself fortunate to be part of the program.”

With the group of coaches in place, Bachman shared with the group during their first meeting: “I have been around other programs and this is a neat group of coaches from Aaron Swartout who played here, Brad Ruff with so much experience, and Matt Smith as the offensive coordinator. They aren’t selfish and jump at the chance to do what is best for the team, not the individual ego,” he said.

Under Bachman last year, the Jaguars went 8-2, averaging 14.4 points per game. The defense forced 17 turnovers (12 interceptions and five fumble recoveries) while limiting the opposition to 143 yards per game (82.8 passing, 60.2 rushing). After allowing 17 points in the season-opening 17-0 loss to New Prague, the Jaguars limited the other team to 20 points or less in eight games and one score in three games.