When Brandon Labath interviewed for a coaching position with the Bemidji State football team four years ago, he was reminded of advice from one of his former coaches: “No matter what, in this profession, you want to be around good people.”
That counsel came courtesy of Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz. Labath started his coaching career with the Hawkeyes, serving as an undergraduate assistant coach from 2016-20.
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After graduating from Iowa, Labath joined the Beavers’ coaching staff. Early on in the interview process, he realized that BSU would be a great fit.
“To get to Bemidji and go through that interview process the first time, you could tell this is somewhere that you can come to grow and develop as a coach,” Labath said. “I’d never really heard of Bemidji before coming up this way, but I had connections that knew of Bemidji and obviously the conference they play in, and how good it is top to bottom. There's a lot of really good competition, a lot of really good coaches in this league.”
Labath wore a few different hats at Bemidji State. He coached tight ends and fullbacks and was a co-special teams coordinator before departing for St. Thomas in March of 2023.
Two years later, Labath is heading back up to northern Minnesota, rejoining the Beavers coaching staff as an assistant coach focused on the offensive line and coordinating the run game.
“Really fired up to be back to work with coach (Brent) Bolte, coach (Jordan) Hein, some of the familiar names that have been in and around the program,” Labath said. “Couple guys that I have a lot of respect for, wouldn’t be back without those guys leading the way. And I think just them having the trust in me, seeing my growth over time; coach Bolte gave me my first opportunity coming out of college, basically to run a room for the first time, go recruit for the first tim, and (to) continue to develop professionally under him has been fun.”
Labath isn’t the only coach back at Bemidji State after a brief stint elsewhere. Former BSU quarterback and coach Jordan Hein replaced Karson Pike as the offensive coordinator this offseason after calling Northern State’s offense for a year.
Hein and Labath already have experience coaching together, working on Bemidji State’s offensive staff from 2020 through the 2022 season. It was a stretch that saw the Beavers secure their first playoff win in program history and host their first playoff game a season later.
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“We've had a lot of success together,” Labath said. “We’re good buddies off the field. He was really a big part of me coming back this way and wanting to work together again because we’ve had that relationship in the working world there. He’s a really, really good one. Something I just wanted to be a part of and continue to grow with him.”
Much like Hein, Labath picked up plenty of experience in his time away from BSU. Initially joining the Tommies as a tight ends coach, Labath eventually moved to coaching the offensive line.
Though every program is different, Labath has witnessed firsthand the power of a strong, consistent culture at each stop. Ferentz has been the skipper for the Hawkeyes for 27 years. Bolte was promoted to head coach at BSU in 2017 and has spent more than two decades with the program. Head coach Glenn Caruso has led St. Thomas since 2008.
“What's really neat about all three of these programs is the stability of the head coach and how long they’ve been at each spot, and that’s something that really draws my attention,” Labath said. “What I learned at St. Thomas was the importance of that stability and building a culture, and (the) importance of that in today’s world of college football.”
Bemidji State’s culture specifically meshes well with Labath. BSU’s newest assistant coach joined the United States Navy as an operations specialist out of high school, earning the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and Navy Good Conduct Award during his service.
It was an experience that helped form some of Labath’s coaching philosophy, a set of beliefs that was only strengthened at Iowa.
“I think one of the biggest things is the attention to detail in what you're doing,” Labath said. “That kind of cross-bridges at Iowa. We used a term called, ‘Being the best at the basics.’ And it’s really from your first step, all your technique and your fundamentals, those are the biggest things. Just the whole detail-oriented part of everything and being able to bridge those concepts together, those ideas that’s kind of where that mindset takes it, takes form.”
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Alongside his professional background, Labath’s personal hard work ethos fits well with Bolte’s program, which is built on that oft-mentioned blue-collar outlook on the gridiron
“I feel like I kind of fit that mold, with how I was raised and kind of where I came from, going right into the military right out of high school, it's kind of that same mentality.” Labath said. “You weren’t born with the things that allow you to go do the things that you might want to do, but you kind of have to make your own path and your own way, and that’s something that I think I’ve done for not only myself, but now my family, too.”
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