GOLDEN, Colo. - Colorado School of Mines' search for its next head football coach didn't take long, as Pete Sterbick has had the interim tag removed and will be the 31st head coach in program history.

Sterbick had been the offensive coordinator since January 2019 and has been a key driver of some of nation's most explosive offenses since then, helping Mines to consecutive regional titles and an appearance in the 2022 NCAA Division II national championship game.

"I am honored and excited to take over as head football coach here at Mines," Sterbick said. "This is a very unique and special place. The tradition here started well before I arrived in 2019 as offensive coordinator, and we've been fortunate enough to take our program to an elite level. We aim to stay on a championship track, and are hungry for more. Our players are and will always be priority number one, and I am grateful to be their coach."

Along with Sterbick's elevation to the head coaching position, Tim Brandon has been promoted to offensive coordinator, and will also continue to work with the offensive line.

"I am excited to remove the interim tag and name Pete Sterbick the head football coach at Colorado School of Mines," said Director of Athletics David Hansburg. "Pete has done an exceptional job in his time at Mines as our offensive coordinator, and he will continue to lead our program as we continue to pursue a national championship. The exuberant reaction of the team when I told them says it all about what Pete has accomplished and what our players feel about him."

Sterbick was the 2022 FootballScoop D-II Coordinator of the Year, and has perfected one of the nation's most explosive and versatile offenses since arriving as offensive coordinator in 2019. This past season, Mines had a prolific offense that led the nation in scoring (44.6 ppg) and red zone offense (97%) while ranking top-10 nationally in total offense, passing offense, fourth down conversion percentage, and turnover margin. At Mines, Sterbick has worked with numerous all-Americans and all-conference student-athletes, most notably mentoring the development of quarterback John Matocha from a true freshman starter in 2019 to Harlon Hill Award winner in 2022. Matocha was the consensus national player of the year in 2022 while center Matt Armendariz and wide receiver Max McLeod also earned all-America honors on offense. Running back Michael Zeman continued to break records as he became Colorado's all-time scoring leader and Mines' undisputed rushing leader, and Mines was one of just a handful of schools at any level of college football with both two 1,000-yard receivers in Josh Johnston and McLeod, and a 1,000-yard rusher in Zeman.

Sterbick has been a head coach before, at McPherson College in 2012 and 2013, and has been a coordinator or assistant at Montana Tech, Grand View, Washington State, North Dakota, and Missouri Western. He is a graduate of Augustana (S.D.) where he was a wide receiver and punter, and also holds a master's degree from Washington State. 

Brandon enters his seventh year at Mines across two tenures, serving as the program's offensive line coach and run game coordinator since 2018. Mines' lines have powered their offensive success under Brandon, including the historic run success in 2019 that saw the Orediggers run for a program-record 3,269 yards. His collection of offensive line standouts has included Grant Stewart, a 2018 and 2019 All-American and Gene Upshaw Award finalist; Armendariz, a consensus all-American in 2021 and 2022, Gene Upshaw Award finalist in 2022, and a two-time winner of the Rimington Award; and all-region selections Levi Johnson (2022) and Cody Ullestad (2019), among numerous all-RMAC recipients since 2018. Mines has had a 1,000-yard rusher in each of Brandon's four years coaching the line, and the program's two all-time leading rushers, Cam Mayberry and Michael Zeman, both played during his tenure and were all-Americans. Brandon started his college coaching career as the Orediggers' wide receivers coach in 2015 before spending two years as an offensive graduate assistant at Northwestern, where he helped the Wildcats to consecutive bowl wins in 2016 and 2017.