Elmhurst Tabs Mike Heffernan as Football Head Coach

ELMHURST, Ill. – Elmhurst University and Director of Athletics Dr. Glen Brittich have announced the hiring of Mike Heffernan ’07 as the 22nd head coach in the history of the Elmhurst football program. 

“It is with great excitement we welcome Coach Heffernan back to Elmhurst as our new head football coach. When this search was started, we focused on looking for an individual who wanted to be ingrained in the fabric of Elmhurst University and support the holistic experience of our student-athletes. Throughout the interview process, it was very clear that Coach Heffernan is extremely student-athlete focused and extremely passionate about Elmhurst University” Brittich said. 

“Coach Heffernan is an individual who believes in the ability for Elmhurst University to impact the lives of student-athletes and will build a football program focused on a positive student-athlete experience. We could not be more excited about the future of Bluejay football with Coach Heffernan leading the way.” 

Heffernan, a 2007 graduate of Elmhurst with a degree in kinesiology, returns to his alma mater to lead the Bluejay football program after spending the past six seasons as the head coach at The College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minn. Heffernan began his collegiate career at Illinois State University before transferring to Elmhurst in 2004. A standout defensive lineman and two-year starter for the Bluejays, Heffernan was a 2006 Second Team All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) selection. 

Heffernan will begin his role as head football coach immediately. 

“I am extremely excited to come home and rejoin the Bluejay family!” Heffernan said. “I want to say thank you to Dr. Brittich and the hiring committee for their diligence and hard work during this hiring process. I also want to thank President Troy VanAken for the support and opportunity, and thank him and his staff for the tireless work they do for Elmhurst University and its community,” Heffernan said.  

“For me to be back at Elmhurst University with the opportunity to lead this program, and to be at a place that helped mold me into the person, father, husband and coach I am today, is unbelievably rewarding. I am ready to get to work!” 

As the head coach at St. Scholastica, Heffernan helped transition the program to the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) in 2020 after previously competing in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC). He mentored 10 All-MIAC players and four All-UMAC players during his time as the head coach in Duluth. 

Before being named head coach at St. Scholastica in 2019, Heffernan served as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator in 2018, coaching five First Team All-UMAC offensive players that season. He also held the same positions at Saint Anselm College, an NCAA Division II institution, during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. 

Heffernan returned to the sidelines at Langhorst Field in 2013, taking on various roles, including offensive coordinator (2015), offensive line coach (2013-15), recruiting coordinator (2014), academic coordinator (2015), and camp coordinator (2013-14). During his time at Elmhurst, he helped mentor All-Americans Josh Williams and Garrett Claxon, as well as an All-CCIW offensive lineman in each of his three seasons. 

In his first stint at St. Scholastica, Heffernan served as the team’s assistant head coach and offensive line coach from 2009-13, helping to build the football program after its inaugural season in 2008. During that time, he helped guide the Saints to three consecutive UMAC championships (2011-13) and three trips to the NCAA Division III playoffs. Heffernan coached seven UMAC Players of the Year and 34 All-UMAC honorees during that stretch. 

After graduating from Elmhurst in 2007, Heffernan worked as a graduate assistant coach at Northern State University before becoming the offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 2008. That season, the team won a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title and earned a spot in the NCAA Division III playoffs. 

A native of Lake Zurich, Ill., Heffernan and his wife, Johanna, have three children, Thor, Moira, and Virgil.