McElroy’s predecessor is a key reason he came to Bethel. McElroy first connected with Johnson during his time at the U of M and the two bonded almost immediately. After witnessing Johnson’s authenticity and the way that fueled a program built on a mix of football, faith, toughness, and personal growth, he knew he wanted to be a part of it. “The unique mix of authentic faith and authentic foundation in Jesus mixed with really good football was attractive to me,” McElroy says. “I’d never seen it done before, had never seen it done at a high level before.”
To McElroy and Peterson, that will continue to be the bedrock of Bethel football. “It’s centered on Jesus and that’s the foundation—and we’re really not going to stray from that at all,” Peterson says. But with any transition, there will be changes. When Johnson called to congratulate McElroy early this week, he told McElroy he was proud of him, and offered a bit of advice. “He said, ‘You’ve got to be you. Don’t try to be me,’” McElroy says.
Mike McElroy met former Bethel Head Football Coach Steve Johnson while working as a graduate assistant at the University of Minnesota. The two connected almost instantly, and McElroy knew he wanted to be a part of Bethel’s program. “This place for me was this perfect mix of football and faith and toughness and all of these cool things that blend together and are really unique to any level of football,” he says.
McElroy has already displayed strong leadership and the ability to get the most out of his players. At a DIII program like Bethel, it’s important for players to continually get better. And Peterson is impressed by how McElroy has embraced the challenge of developing players throughout their Bethel careers. “He takes that to all areas of their life—their spiritual development, their leadership development, academics—all those things,” Peterson says. While McElroy is thoughtful, soft-spoken, and low-key when you encounter him in Bethel’s halls, Peterson sees him flip a switch when he’s on the field. “Once he gets in front of a defense or out on the field, he turns it up a notch in a cool way,” says Peterson, who also values how he clearly communicates expectations to his players and then holds them accountable.
Reflecting on his Bethel career so far, McElroy recalls big wins and accomplishments, but he’s most proud of the moments that happen off the field with players and their personal growth. Under Johnson, Bethel football built a reputation for empowering players to grow as men. To McElroy, that makes Bethel football special. He loves seeing players come in, develop, and leave ready to make significant impacts in their communities. And that’s not going to change. “The call is to still be really good—that’s the hope every year,” McElroy says. “But it’s the other stuff that I want to encourage guys that what this place has been built on is going to remain solid.”
Peterson describes McElroy as a lifelong learner who seeks out knowledge and shares it with his players. “He deeply cares about the young men that he coaches and the life transformation that they’re going to have,” Peterson says. McElroy is an avid reader of leadership and development books, and he helped the football team compile a library of books on life, leadership, discipleship, modern masculinity, and more that are shared with his players.