Redhawks lose two more coaches

Two defensive coaches leave for personal reasons.

Southeast Missouri State football coach Tim Billings had no intention of again serving as his own defensive coordinator this season.

But circumstances have forced Billings back into those extra duties.

Cody Vardeman, who was basically the Redhawks' co-defensive coordinator with Billings last year, recently got out of coaching to enter private business.

"He and his wife just had a baby, and it was just a good opportunity for him to make a lot more money," Billings said.

Craig Wederquist, who was hired in the spring as the Redhawks' defensive line coach and who Billings planned to have help Vardeman run the entire defense, recently left Southeast's staff to return to his family in Iowa.

"He did a great job in the short time he was here, but there were some things that happened with his son, a job at Northern Iowa opened up, where his family was, and he decided to go back there," Billings said.

Billings, Marshall's defensive coordinator in 1999 before taking over Southeast's program in 2000, helped run the Redhawks' defense last year after defensive coordinator Damon Bradford, a member of the Tennessee National Guard, was called to active duty.

Billings had originally hoped Bradford might return for this season, but that won't be the case.

"Damon has e-mailed me some, and he's excited to be getting back to us, but he probably won't be back until Thanksgiving," Billings said. "It's just something we'll have to get through for another year."

Billings believes having to help run the defense while also juggling his head coaching duties might have contributed to the Redhawks' disappointing season last year -- they went 3-8 and ranked statistically among the nation's worst defensive units -- but he's looking for smoother sailing this year.

"The good thing is I've been through it now a year, and I think I'll be able to coordinate everything better," he said. "I'll run it [the defense] some, and I'll have help from coach [Joe Dan] Rogers."

Rogers also joined Southeast's staff in the spring, as the defensive secondary and special teams coach.

Not only is Billings gearing up to assume his dual roles again, but less than a month before practice begins he's also looking to hire two new coaches to replace Vardeman and Wederquist on the defensive side of the ball.

All in all, it will make for quite an upheaval in the coaching staff since the end of last season. Also not back from 2004 are Matt Webb, Andy McGill and Tony Joe White.