Jarrett Grabbe is in his ninth season on the Lindenwood football coaching staff in 2025. He is the team’s defensive ends coach.
In 2024, Grabbe guided a defensive unit that led the Big South-OVC Association in fumbles forced with 13 and had first-team all-conference selection Vincent King. Lindenwood accumulated 19 sacks on the year.
The Lions earned just their second shutout since 2015 in a 64-0 win over St. Thomas and defeated then No. 6 SEMO 24-12 on November 9 in Hunter Stadium. In the win over the Redhawks, Lindenwood held Paxton DeLaurent without a touchdown pass for the only time this season.
In 2023, Grabbe guided a defensive unit who boasted two all-conference selections in Kobe McClendon and Ethan Stuhlsatz. McClendon finished the year with 6.5 sacks, fourth most in a single season in program history. During the year, Lindenwood garnered a pair of Defensive Player of the Week honors. Grabbe helped the defense to its first shutout since 2015 in a 23-0 win over Tennessee Tech during week six of the season. Academically, Lindenwood compiled five CSC Academic All-District selections.
In its first NCAA Division I season, the Lions went 7-3 record, including a 4-1 mark inside Hunter Stadium. Lindenwood picked up a thrilling 21-20 road win over Houston Baptist, as they blocked a punt with 28 seconds left, which was recovered in the end zone for a game-winning score. Lindenwood earned another road victory on October 8 in a 52-49 win over Central Arkansas, which was the start of a four-game winning streak. During that stretch, Lindenwood earned its fist win inside conference play after defeating Murray State in week six. The Lions received votes in the FCS weekly poll on three different occasions during the year. The Lions accumulated 10 all-conference selections and nine OVC weekly accolades, while Kobe McClendon was named a Stats Perform FCS Freshman All-American after an impressive 2022 campaign.
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.
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. 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.
In 2019, Grabbe helped Lindenwood to one of its best seasons in the NCAA era, as the Lions went 9-4 on the year with a perfect 7-0 mark in conference play to capture the GLVC Championship. Lindenwood earned a berth in the 2019 NCAA Division II Playoffs, while defeating No. 5 Ouachita Baptist in the first round.
Grabbe and the defense garnered three members on the first-team All-GLVC, and three players earned second-team All-GLVC honors. Tayvian Weary earned first-team All-GLVC, as he tied the school record for sacks in a season with 7.5.
Lindenwood accumulated 10 interceptions and 10 fumble recoveries on the season. The Lions had 14 different players register a takeaway, as three different players forced at least one fumble. The defense averaged 2.1 sacks per game, and tallied 5.0 tackles for loss per game. Grabbe and the defense close out the game against Ouachita Baptist with an interception to secure the first victory in the NCAA Division II Playoffs for the Lions.
Lindenwood closed out the game against No. 24 Truman State with a fumble recovery on the final play of the game to solidify the upset. The defense repeated it performance against Saginaw Valley, as the Lions recovered a fumble on the last play to secure the victory. In the final home game of the year, Grabbe and the defense stood strong in overtime by stopping Missouri S&T on fourth down to win the game.
In his second year, Grabbe helped Lindenwood to the fewest yards allowed since the 2013 season. The Lions allowed 385.3 yards per game, the best mark for the Lions in the last eight years. In week two, the Lions allowed just 33 passing yards against Missouri Southern which was the second-lowest mark in program history.
Grabbe helped transition two-time first-team All-MIAA defensive lineman Jonathan Harris move from end to tackle. Harris amassed 11.5 tackles for loss and had six sacks in his final season with the Lions. Harris lived in the opposing backfields, as he registered a tackle for loss stat in eight games and a sack in seven different games. Following the 2019 NFL Draft, Harris signed a training camp invite deal with the Chicago Bears.
Grabbe saw Uchenna Egwuonwu earn third-team All-MIAA recognition and Antonio Davis be named honorable-mention All-MIAA. Egwuonwu made his presence known in his first year with the Lions as he ranked in the top-20 in the MIAA for tackles for loss (8.0) and sacks (3.5). Davis was part of the defensive line that applied pressure each week as he tallied 35 tackles including 13 solo stops.
In his first year at Lindenwood, Grabbe coached the team’s top player. Jonathan Harris earned first-team All-MIAA honors for the first time in his career after recording 11.0 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks. Another lineman, Antonio Davis, also earned honorable mention all-conference accolades.
The defensive line played a key role in Lindenwood having its top scoring defense since 2012. The Lions improved their scoring defense by over seven points over the previous season, and also gave up nearly 100 fewer yards per game.
Grabbe came to Lindenwood from the University of Sioux Falls, where he served as the defensive line coach in 2015 and 2016.
In 2015, he helped the Sioux Falls defense allow just 18.6 points a game. The defensive line allowed just 3.2 yards per rush, and averaged three sacks a game. Grabbe coached two second-team all-conference performers and one honorable mention pick.
The next season, he was a part of a defensive unit that allowed 19.6 points a game. Sioux Falls ranked 16th in the nation with 3.2 sacks a game. He helped coach one first-team All-NSIC performer, two second-team selections, and one honorable mention pick.
Grabbe was a four-year letterwinner for the Cougars from 2011-2014. He recorded 83 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, nine pass breakups, one forced fumble, and three fumble recoveries in his career. Grabbe was an honorable mention All-NSIC pick in 2014, and helped the Cougars win the Mineral Water Bowl that season.
