BILLINGS PLEASED WITH NEW INDIAN STAFF HE'S ASSEMBLED

Tim Billings, Southeast Missouri State University's first-year head football coach, is proud of his inaugural Indians' coaching staff.

Billings said with a smile that he tried to find assistant coaches who are better coaches than him. Asked if he had succeeded, a laughing Billings said, "Of course not."

All kidding aside, however, Billings considers himself fortunate to have assembled the type of staff he did as he begins the process of trying to turn around Southeast's struggling football program.

"I feel very lucky to have this kind of coaching staff," he said. "I feel like this is one of the most talented coaches staffs I've ever been a part of. You hear a lot of coaches say that, but I really mean it.

"And they're not just good coaches, they're all really quality people, which is very important. They're all going to have a lot of responsibility and I know they can handle it."

Heading up Billings' staff are offensive coordinator Russ Martin and defensive coordinator Mike Phillips.

Martin was a head coach prior to joining the Southeast program, directing the program at Black Hills State in South Dakota from 1996-99.

A coach since 1979, Martin has been an assistant at Baylor University, Bethany College, Kansas Wesleyan and Kearney State. The former player at Chadron State has also coached in the high school ranks.

"To have somebody with head coaching experience on our staff is a real plus," Billings said.

Phillips, a Texas native, has done all of his previous coaching in the Lone Star state. Before coming to Southeast, he was the defensive coordinator at Hardin Simmons University from 1991-99. The former Angelo State University player began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Angelo State in 1985 and he has also coached in high school.

"We have two excellent coordinators," said Billings. "Coach Martin and coach Phillips both have the same philosophies I do as far as offense and defense."

Southeast's other primary assistants and their responsibilities are Rory Segrest (defensive line), Shannon Morrison (defensive backs), Kip Shaw (offensive backs), Tony Joe White (tight ends/special teams) and Mike Chavez (offensive line). Segrest is the lone holdover from last year's staff.

Segrest, who also coached the Southeast defensive line last season, is a former graduate assistant at Auburn and Alabama. He was an offensive tackle on Alabama's national championship team in 1992.

Morrison comes to Southeast from Hampden-Sydney, where he was defensive coordinator in 1998-99. He has also coached at Marshall (graduate assistant) and Sam Houston State and he played on Marshall's 1992 Division I-AA national championship team when Billings was an assistant with the Thundering Herd.

Shaw was a graduate assistant at Marshall in 1998-99 before coming to Southeast. The former player at West Virginia State has also coached in the high school ranks.

White coached the quarterbacks at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo., in 1998-99 before coming to Southeast. The former East Texas State quarterback was also a graduate assistant at Louisiana Tech and a student assistant at Southwest Texas State.

Chavez, a 14-year college assistant, has been the offensive line coach since 1996 at Black Hills State under Martin. He played at Whittier College in California.

"I feel like we have a very good mix of veteran and younger assistant coaches on our staff," said Billings. "That should make for a good blend."

The Indians have two graduate assistants in Jorge Munoz (wide receivers) and Craig Knaak (defensive ends), who were both also graduate assistants for Southeast last year. Southeast also has two student assistants in Jeremy Atwell and J.C. Kime.