UPLAND, Ind. – Taylor University and Director of Athletics Kyle Gould announced on Thursday that Aaron Mingo has been named the new head coach for the TU football program and will begin his tenure immediately.
Mingo comes to Upland after a highly successful five-year stint at Dordt University of the Great Plains Athletic Conference, where he helped create one of the highest-rated offenses in the NAIA as the offensive coordinator, recruiting coordinator and offensive line coach.
“My family and I are incredibly excited for the opportunity to join the community at Taylor,” said Mingo. “The mission of Taylor University to develop and equip servant leaders aligns with who I am and how I am called to coach. I also believe the experiences I have had in being a part of building successful transformative football programs equip me for the task of leading the Trojan football program. Taylor football will be built to last and will set the bar as the leading Christian college football program in the country.”
Mingo brings 12 years of collegiate coaching experience at faith-based institutions with him to Taylor, having most recently served at Dordt since 2016. Prior to his time at DU, Mingo served in the same role at Bluefield College for three seasons and as a recruiting coordinator and offensive line coach at Greenville University for four years.
“After an extensive search process, I am thrilled to welcome Aaron Mingo as our next head football coach,” said Gould. “His discipleship-infused coaching philosophy, recruiting acumen and success at every stop distinguished him among a talented pool of candidates. I am excited for him to get connected with our student-athletes and begin the work of getting ready for this upcoming season and many more in the future.”
The Dordt football program took off immediately with the arrival of Mingo, posting back-to-back five-win campaigns in 2016 and 2017 after earning just 11 total wins in the previous eight seasons.
The Defenders posted consecutive seven-win seasons and cracked the NAIA Top-25 Poll in the 2018 and 2019 seasons, before closing the 2021 spring season with an 8-3 record, a NAIA Playoff appearance and a No. 15 national ranking.
Under Mingo’s watch, the fast-paced Dordt offense closed the 2021 spring ranked No. 2 in the NAIA with 532.6 total yards of offense per game, No. 2 with 320.0 rushing yards per outing and No. 6 with 43.7 points per game. Those numbers led to the Defender offense finding the end zone 64 times in 11 contests.
In addition to those eye-popping statistics in his final season at DU, Mingo helped the Defenders’ offense average 37.6 points per game over his five seasons. That mark included 39.8 points per game over the past three seasons, which fueled a 22-10 overall clip and a 19-8 record in the GPAC during that span.
Those numbers led to a pile of individual honors for Mingo’s student-athletes, as the Dordt offense picked up five NAIA All-American honors, 12 First-Team All-GPAC awards and two GPAC Offensive Lineman-of-the-Year nods in his five years with the program.
Prior to his time at Dordt, Mingo led the Bluefield offense for three seasons, helping the program to records for scoring, total offense and rushing offense.
Mingo got his coaching career started on the staff at Greenville, assisting the program to three conference championships in four years and the program’s best single-season in school history.
Mingo also attended Greenville as a student-athlete, completing a degree in criminal justice in 2008, before earning a master’s degree in teacher leadership from Greenville in 2011. During his time on the gridiron with the Panthers, Mingo was a member of the Football Servant Leadership Council and earned all-league attention in the classroom as well as on the field.
Mingo and his wife, Ashley, have one son, Gideon.
