Wagner College is primed and ready to move up the ranks, bringing in three new assistants to join the Seahawks’ football coaching staff.
Joining head coach Walt Hameline for the 2012 season are former Fordham University football coach Tom Masella, former Rutgers quarterback Mike Teel and former UMass defensive line coach Malik Hall.
Masella, a former Wagner defensive back, will assume the role of assistant head coach as well as serving as the team’s special teams coordinator and secondary coach. Masella began his coaching career at Wagner in 1982, just a year after graduating from the Staten Island-based university.
“I’m excited to be back at my alma mater and to be back home here on Staten Island,” Masella said. “Obviously I have the utmost respect for Walt Hameline as a person and as a football coach. This is an exciting opportunity for me and I can’t wait to jump in and start getting to know and working with the players and the rest of the coaching staff.”
Masella brings nearly 30 years of coaching experience to Wagner’s staff, most recently leading a Fordham program to the 2007 Patriot League title and was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year.
“I am truly excited to that Tom has agreed to come home to Staten Island and Wagner College,” said Hameline. “I’ve coached Tom, I’ve coached with him, and I’ve coached against him. He is first and foremost a great person who is also a tremendous football mind and someone who will lend veteran leadership to our coaching staff. I am confident that our student-athletes and young coaches alike, will benefit from Tom’s wisdom.”
Masella was a senior at Wagner when Hameline assumed the role of head football coach at the school in 1981.
Joining Masella is former Rutgers quarterback Mike Teel. Teel is the all-time leading passer in Rutgers history and led the Scarlet Knights to three bowl victories while with the school.
A former sixth-round NFL draft pick, Teel spent time with the Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots and Chicago Bears before joining Kean University as the school’s quarterbacks coach, the same role he will assume at Wagner.
“Our quarterbacks will benefit from his wide array of experiences,” Hameline said. “Mike is serious about the game, eager to make coaching his life’s work, and I believe the success he enjoyed and his name recognition in this region will resonate in recruiting.”
The final addition to the Seahawks’ staff is Malik Hall, who is returning to the school after a brief stint as the defensive line coach at UMass. Hall served as Wagner’s defensive coordinator in 2010 and will once again serve as the school’s defensive coordinator.
“This is a great opportunity for me to return to Wagner and recreate what I started two seasons ago,” said the 31-year old Hall. “There is so much youth and excitement within the program, I can’t wait to start get after it.”
Wagner compiled a 4-7 record last season, including going 4-4 in the Northeast league, which is part of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision.