Pat Stewart joins the Lindenwood staff for his third season in 2022, and coaches the linebackers.
In 2021, the Lions won their second-consecutive GLVC Championship with another perfect season in league play. Lindenwood closed out the season with a 9-3 record, while going 7-0 in the conference. For the second time in as many season in the GLVC, Drew Seers was named Defensive Player of the Year. The Lions accumulated 21 all-conference selections, including nine of the defensive unit. Seers went on to collect two first-team All-American honors and was voted as a finalist for the Cliff Harris award, which recognizes the top defensive player in the country. Seers was named the D2Football.com Defensive Player of the Year in his final season with the Lions. Lindenwood earned its second appearance in the NCAA Division II Football Playoffs for the second time since joining the NCAA. Academically, the Lions compiled three CoSIDA Academic All-District selections, while two moved on to earn Academic All-American accolades.
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The Lions earned a win over Quincy with the help of three interceptions from Kai Ross, which tied a program record. The Lions collected 18 interceptions to rank fifth in school history. Ross (6) and Seers (5) reached the top-six in the program record book for interceptions in a season. Jordan Perry finished the season with 11 pass breakups to rank second in school history. Lindenwood capped of the regular season with a win over McKendree, marking 14-consecutive wins for the Lions in the conference.
In the summer of 2020, Lindenwood earned a ranking of No. 13 in the Street and Smith Preseason Poll, while receiving the No. 17 spot in the LINDY'S Sports Preseason Poll. Drew Seers was featured on the College Football American Yearbook Division II Preseason Starting Lineup. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the start of the 2020 season was delayed. On October 6, 2020, the GLVC Council of Presidents voted to move the season into the spring semester, which featured a shortened schedule. On March 18, 2021, the Lindenwood football program opted out of the spring season out of concern for the health and well-being of the student-athletes.
Stewart comes to Lindenwood after spending the previous three years at Lindenwood University-Belleville , the last year as the head football coach. While with the Lynx, Stewart coached four defensive players who ranked nationally across six statistical categories at the NAIA level.Â
Stewart played collegiately at Western State University (1985-88), where he lettered four times, was twice named a first-team All-Conference (RMAC) Linebacker and is currently ranked ninth in the RMAC for career tackles and ninth for most tackles in a game.
Stewart helped two football programs win four RMAC championships as well as four national playoff appearances - two as a linebackers coach (Western State) and two as a defensive coordinator (University of Nebraska Kearney). He has worked with Hall of Fame coaches Duke Iverson and Casey Coons (Western State), Joe Glenn (University of Northern Colorado), future Hall of Fame Head Coach Darrell Morris (Nebraska Kearney) and with current NFL coordinators Todd Wash of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Nate Kaczor of the Washington Redskins. Stewart has over 25 years of football coaching experience primarily as a defensive coordinator, as well as head coaching experience at Western State and Lindenwood Belleville.
Stewart earned a business management and history degree from Western State and he holds a master’s degree in physical education from Northern Colorado. Stewart and his wife Linda have a daughter, Amber and a son, Nick.
