Matt Janus was named the 24th head football coach in Northern Michigan University history on January 5, 2026.
Janus comes to Marquette after six seasons as the head coach at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, where he led the Eagles to one of the most successful stretches in NCAA Division III football.
During his tenure at UW–La Crosse, Janus compiled a 45-14 overall record, including a 29-6 mark in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC), and guided the Eagles to five straight NCAA Division III playoff appearances. His teams were ranked in the national top 25 every week of the 2024 and 2025 seasons and finished inside the top 25 in both the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and D3football.com polls each year from 2021 to 2025.
Janus led UW–La Crosse to consecutive WIAC championships in 2022 and 2023, including an unbeaten 7-0 conference season in 2023 — the program's first outright league title since 2004. That season, the Eagles went 11-2 overall, finished ranked fourth nationally, and advanced to the NCAA Division III quarterfinals for the first time since 1996. The 11 victories marked the program's most wins in a season since 1996.
A two-time WIAC Coach of the Year (2022, 2023), Janus was also named the 2023 D3football.com Region 6 Coach of the Year. Under his leadership, UW–La Crosse produced more than 70 All-WIAC selections, including multiple conference Players of the Year, 12 All-Americans, and several Gagliardi Trophy semifinalists. Eight players also earned CSC Academic All-District honors, highlighting the program's success both on the field and in the classroom.
Before being named head coach in February 2020, Janus spent three seasons as UW–La Crosse's defensive coordinator. His defenses consistently ranked among the WIAC's best, setting a school record with 40 sacks in 2019 while leading the conference in third-down defense, sacks, red-zone defense, and turnovers. In 2017, the Eagles posted their first winning season in a decade and finished ranked 24th nationally.
Janus also held coaching roles at UW–Platteville, including co-defensive coordinator, defensive line coach, and recruiting coordinator, helping the Pioneers earn an NCAA Division III playoff berth and a top-15 national ranking in 2016. He began his coaching career at Sheboygan Falls High School in Wisconsin and previously served as a graduate assistant at UW–Platteville.
