HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016 05-18 Ex-Viking Pete Bercich named head coach at Hill-Murray STAR TRIBUNE5/19/2016
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Ex -Viking Pete Bercich named head coach at Hill -Murray - StarTribune.com
Ex -Viking Pete Bercich named head
coach at Hill -Murray
The Vikings radio color analyst becomes the fifth new coach at the
Maplewood school since the 2011 season.
By Paul Klauda (http://www.startribune.com/paul-klauda/10645216/) Star Tribune
MAY 18, 2016 - 4:45PM
Former Minnesota Viking linebacker and assistant coach Pete Bercich has been named
head football coach at Hill -Murray, the school announced Wednesday.
Bercich, 44, has worked as color analyst for Vikings games on the Vikings Radio Network
since 2007. He replaces Rick Fryklund at the Maplewood -based private school.
Bercich, a Viking player for seven years and assistant coach for five seasons, also will be
the school's director of development. He is expected to take part in a groundbreaking
ceremony on Friday for a new football stadium at the school.
"One thing I will say about high school football, your high school teammates are the
friends you will keep all your life," Bercich said in a statement released by the school. "In
college, you may keep a friend or two. If you play in the NFL, you may keep one or two
there as well. Your high school playing days are your glory days. They stay with you
with you forever."
Bercich is the fifth head coach hired by the school since 2011, when it turned to former
Viking quarterback Brooks Bollinger. He led the Pioneers to the Class 4A state
tournament semifinals in his first and only season before resigned to become the
quarterbacks coach at the University of Pittsburgh.
Hill -Murray then hired Mark Mauer, who had coached for seven seasons at Concordia
University in St. Paul. Mauer coached the 2012 season and resigned in February 2013
after he was arrested during a prostitution sting in Fridley.
Tony Danna, a Hill -Murray graduate and former University of St. Thomas football
player, took over the coaching reins before the 2013 season and led the team in 2014 as
well.
Frykland was named head coach in 2015. He graduated from St. Thomas Academy and
the University of St. Thomas, where he played football. Previously he had been an
assistant football and wrestling coach at St. Thomas Academy.
Bercich, the son of a former NFL player, grew up in Joliet, Illinois and played high school
football at Providence Catholic High School. He was a starting linebacker at Notre
Dame and graduated in 31/2 years with a finance degree.
The Vikings selected Bercich in the seventh round of the 1994 NFL draft. He played
linebacker and special teams for seven seasons, then coached for five seasons. He retired
in 2005 and became an NFL broadcaster.
pklauda@startribune.com 612-673-7280
(http://stmedia.startribune.com/images/2retireO825.jpg)
MARLIN LEVISON, STAR TRIBUNE FILE
Former Vikings linebacker Pete Bercich has
been named head football coach at Hill -
Murray.
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