The Bucknell Bison have found their man. The school hired Jeff Behrman to take over the Bison football program, following three successful years at NCAA Division III John Carroll.
Behrman played quarterback at John Carroll, graduated in 1995, and took a graduate assistant position in 1996 at Clarion in Pennsylvania. In 1997, he became the wide receivers and tight end coach for Glenville State. In 1999, he moved to Blackburn to become the offensive coordinator. In 2000 and 2001, he was the quarterbacks coach at Trinity College in Connecticut.
He moved up to the FCS ranks in 2002 and 2003 as the wide receivers coach for Hofstra, a program that no longer exists. In 2004 and 2005, he returned to Trinity to become the offensive coordinator. In 2006, he came back to the FCS as Stony Brook‘s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He stayed with the Seawolves for a decade before getting his head coaching opportunity at the D-III level.
In 2016, he took over Union College and went 3-7 overall. It didn’t take long for him to right the ship, going 40-13 over the next five seasons. The 2019 season saw Union win the Liberty League and play in the NCAA D-III playoffs. Union lost in the second round, but finished 11-1 overall and ranked 12th at the end of the season. Behrman left Union after the 2022 season, after going 43-20 overall and 22-13 in Liberty League games over six seasons.
Behrman became the head coach at John Carroll in 2023, ending his first campaign at 8-2 overall and second in the Ohio Athletic Conference. In 2024, he finished second again in the OAC, but John Carroll was selected for an at-large bid to the D-III playoffs. The Blue Streaks would reach the second round, falling to rival Mount Union 42-7.
2025 saw John Carroll have one of its best seasons in program history. Out of Mount Union’s clutches during the regular season, JCU would finish the regular season 9-1 overall and 8-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference in its first season. Behrman would lead JCU to the semifinals of the D-III playoffs, which included exorcising its Mount Union demons by defeating them 10-7 in double overtime on the road in the second round. The Blue Streaks would fall 41-21 in the semifinals against the defending D-III Champions, North Central (IL), finishing 12-2 overall.
Behrman went 29-7 overall in three seasons at John Carroll, making two D-III playoff appearances. For his career, he has a 72-27 overall record and is 46-15 in conference games. Behrman’s 9 seasons have seen his teams post only one losing season (Union in 2016), win two conference titles, and make three D-III playoff appearances. He will take over for Dave Cecchini, who went 24-48 overall in 7 seasons. Bucknell hasn’t posted a winning season since 2014 and has yet to make any FCS playoff appearances since joining the subdivision as part of the 1978 Division I split.
Photo Credit to Bucknell University Athletics
