Brian Von Bergen joins the Albany State Football staff after renovating the Montana State passing game during the program’s three-consecutive Big Sky Championships and playoff runs. Known for recruiting and developing players during his 18-year Division I career, Von Bergen took a much-maligned receiving corps at MSU and produced two of the program’s all-time leading receivers during the Bobcats most successful stretch in program history. Von Bergen was also the stabilizing force in the development of four-year starting quarterback Denarius McGhee, who directed the offense under three different systems during his career in Bozeman.
Prior to the record-setting run in Montana, Von Bergen was responsible for assembling a roster at Miami of Ohio program, under Head Coach Terry Hoeppner, that set the bar for a non-BCS program. As Miami’s Recruiting Coordinator, Von Bergen built a roster that would finish 10th in the final BCS standings behind NFL Super Bowl MVP Ben Roethlisberger and a high-powered offense that averaged 42.0 points per game.
Promoted to passing game coordinator in 2005, along with his responsibilities as receivers coach and recruiting coordinator, Von Bergen played an integral role in an offense that transformed Miami football. Under Von Bergen's tutelage, Miami turned out the four most-productive wide receivers in program history, as the quartet of Trevor Gaylor, Michael Larkin, Martin Nance and Ryne Robinson stamped their names prominently in the Miami, Mid-American Conference and even NCAA record books. Robinson, a fourth-round pick by the Carolina Panthers in the 2007 NFL draft--finished his career by breaking Nance's career records for receiving yards (3,697) and receptions (258) while eclipsing Miami's single-season record with 91 catches in 2006.
Von Bergen came to Miami after serving as the Director of Football Operations at Northwestern University. During his two seasons with the Wildcats, Von Bergen also served as the assistant recruiting coordinator responsible for all recruiting activities on the Northwestern campus. Prior to joining Northwestern's staff in 1997, he was the recruiting coordinator and running backs coach at Southern Illinois University for one year. Â While a graduate assistant at Miami from 1993-95, Von Bergen assisted with the coaching of wide receivers and outside linebackers while coordinating video operations.
