Crusader off-cordinator retires

From KWTX
Crusaders Makes Changes on Staff

Belton, TX – University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football offensive coordinator George Haffner is retiring, effective February 1st, Crusader head coach Pete Fredenburg announced today. Haffner’s retirement caps a 40-year coaching career that saw him spend 31 years in Division I and advance to the Division III National Championship game with the Crusaders. Haffner spent seven seasons as the offensive coordinator for UMHB and the team broke school offensive records in every season during his tenure. The Crusader offense has been ranked in the top 20 in the nation in rushing offense and scoring offense in each of the past three seasons. Haffner helped guide the UMHB football team to three American Southwest Conference championships, four NCAA Division III National Championship berths and a national runner-up finish in 2004.
“It is a great time to step aside and spend some time with my family, especially my wife, while I feel good,” Coach Haffner said. “I’m going to enjoy the chance to step back and just be a fan for a while. I will cherish my years at UMHB and it has been a great feeling to have the opportunity to work with Pete Fredenburg to develop a program. Everyone on campus, from the President, to the athletic department, to the student body was so excited about the success we were able to have in the program. I worked with some great players and coaches and I know that they will continue to be successful in that program and I look forward to the chance to be a fan and enjoy the success that is still ahead.”
“We are really going to miss George because he gave us so much knowledge and experience,” Crusader head coach Pete Fredenburg said. “The great thing about George was that he really put his ego aside and didn’t care about what kind of numbers the offense put up, he wanted to do what we needed to do to win football games.”
The Crusader offense produced ten All-Americans, a Gagliradi Trophy finalist and a Rimington Trophy winner during Haffner’s tenure in Belton. The Crusaders fashioned a 57-11 regular season record in his seven seasons and UMHB went 62-15 overall during his time with the Crusaders. Haffner also spent 22 years as an offensive coordinator in Division I, working with coaching legends Bobby Bowden, Johnny Majors and Vince Dooley. He coached a pair of Heisman Trophy winners in Tony Dorsett and Herschel Walker. Haffner was also part of a national championship, three conference champions and 11 bowl games while serving as the offensive coordinator at the University of Georgia. He made collegiate coaching stops at Florida State University, the University of Pittsburgh, Iowa State University, Louisiana State University and Texas A&M University. Coach Haffner is a graduate of McNeese State University and he also played two years of football at the University of Notre Dame. Haffner played professionally for the Baltimore Colts and the Norfolk Neptunes of the Continental Football League before starting his coaching career. Coach Haffner and his wife Norberta have two children.
To fill the void left by Haffner’s retirement, the Crusaders are promoting two offensive assistant coaches. Receivers coach Matt Robinson will take over the reins as the Crusaders offensive coordinator and running backs coach Jeff Shinn will be elevated to full-time assistant coach.
“Matt has a great knowledge of our offense and how to move the football,” Fredenburg said. “He has been a big part of our game-planning and play calling the past few years and part of that is a credit to George Haffner and the way he has worked with Matt, so I think Matt will do a great job as offensive coordinator. Jeff Shinn has been here since the beginning of the program and I really credit him with kind of holding everybody together during the first couple of years when we weren’t so successful. He has done a great job on the field and he has an infectious personality and enthusiasm that I think will really serve him well in recruiting and working with our game plans from here on out.”
Robinson will be entering his seventh season with the Crusaders next year. Robinson has helped develop five All-Conference receivers during his tenure and also spent three seasons as head coach of the UMHB junior varsity program. He spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Northwest Missouri State University and also served one year as an assistant coach at Southern Arkansas. Robinson also spent one year coaching at Wimberley High School prior to joining the Crusaders coaching staff. He is a 1996 graduate of Southwestern Oklahoma State University, where he played quarterback for the Savages. Robinson and his wife, Michelle, have a son, Will Freedom.
Shinn moves to full-time assistant coach after spending the past four seasons as a student and graduate assistant coach for the Crusaders. He has developed four All-Conference running backs during his tenure with the Crusaders. Shinn also helped guide a UMHB running game that ranked 10th in the country in rushing yardage this past season. Shinn is a 2003 graduate of UMHB and he earned his Master’s Degree from UMHB in December. He spent four seasons as the starting fullback for the Crusaders and finished his career as UMHB’s second leading career rusher. He also scored the first touchdown in the history of the Crusader football program.