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Oxford tabs former NFL fullback, Wildcats Hall of Famer Zach Line as new football coach
The search for the new Oxford Wildcats football coach didn’t stray too far from home.
Replacing longtime Oxford field general Bud Rowley will be one of the best players of his decades donning the yellow pants, former All-Pro NFL fullback and Oxford Hall of Famer Zach Line.
Oxford announced the move late Friday in a posting on the school’s athletics website, unveiling three coaching hires for the fall season. Rowley stepped down in November after 43 seasons, and 264 wins.
The 29-year-old Line announced his retirement from the NFL via Instagram earlier in the week.
All-state as a linebacker as a senior in 2007 (as well as in wrestling), Line enrolled at Southern Methodist University as a grayshirt linebacker, but was moved to the offensive backfield by former coach June Jones, and became the first SMU player to record three seasons of 1,200 or more yards rushing.
Picked up as an undrafted free agent by Minnesota, Line played seven seasons and 75 career games in the NFL for the Vikings and New Orleans Saints.
Line has a degree in sports management from SMU, and lives in Oxford with his wife, McKenzie and their three daughters, according to the release.
Oxford also hired Adam Bican to coach boys soccer and Dr. Tom Harwood to coach boys golf in the fall. The school psychologist at Oxford, Dr. Harwood has decades of coaching experience, including a state title in boys tennis at Kalamazoo Hackett in 1985.
Bican has compiled 150 wins over his 15 years of coaching at both Clarkston — which included a state title game appearance in 2007 — and Stoney Creek.
