The North Central school board approved the hiring of Collin Coffer as its coach Wednesday evening. Coffer, a Lawrence North graduate, has been coaching in college and was planning to take a position at Butler as the passing game coordinator before the North Central position came open.

Coffer, 35, has been coaching at Indiana State as an assistant for the past three seasons. Prior to Indiana State, he coached at the University of Indianapolis for five years. He was a four-year starter at cornerback for UIndy, earning his degree in 2012. He was a graduate assistant at UIndy for two years before coaching at Ball State in 2013 and St. Joseph’s College in 2014.

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Coffer has a rebuilding job ahead of him at North Central, which went 0-20 in two seasons under coach Derek Hart, who left to take the position at Jasper. The Panthers also struggled in Kevin O’Shea’s final two seasons in 2021 and ’22, winning just one game. North Central has lost 32 consecutive games overall.

Coffer was a three-sport athlete at Lawrence North, competing in football, wrestling and track and field.