Lehigh football adds three to coaching staff

Lehigh football is preparing for the 2022 fall season with the addition of three new members to the full-time coaching staff. 

On March 24, head coach Tom Gilmore announced that the program was welcoming Mike Moyseenko as a running backs coach and passing game coordinator, and Wisly Desire as a tight ends coach. In addition, Hunter English, former volunteer defensive quality control assistant, will be promoted to assistant defensive line coach.

Moyseenko said he hopes to help the team build overall knowledge of defensive schemes.

“What we’re trying to do offensively from a schematic standpoint is really give them a really good understanding both in the run and pass game,” Moysennko said. “The more they know the more comfortable they are, the better the faster they’ll play.”

Moyseenko started his college football career as a walk-on quarterback at the University of Maryland. During his time at Maryland, he worked with the offensive scout for two years. In Moyseenko’s final two years as an undergraduate student, he worked as a student assistant for the team.

Moyseenko began his coaching career at Shepherd University, in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, where he served as the wide receivers coach.

After coaching at Shepherd University, he accepted a coaching job at Towson University in Towson, Maryland. He spent a year as the offensive quality control coach before he was promoted to wide receivers coach. He remained in this position for five years.

Moyseenko then left Townson and began coaching at the University of Connecticut as a quality control coach. He was promoted to a quarterback coach after just a year. During this time, he briefly served as a running backs coach as well.

Desire started his football career as an offensive lineman at Jacksonville University, in Jacksonville, Florida, helping lead his team to achieve a top 25 national ranking during the 2010 season.

After his collegiate career, he started coaching as an offensive line coach and run game coordinator at Monroe College in New York. 

After four seasons at Monroe College, Desire coached at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, as an offensive line coach.There, he helped lead a team to upset rival Miami and earn a bid to the Camellia Bowl.

As a fifth year student and tight end, Alex Snyder said Desire will be his fifth coach at Lehigh.

“It’s been good to learn from all these different coaches, but I think when we got coach Wis (Desire) as a tight ends coach – and he’s from the south like me – I think we are going to have a really good connection and he’s going to have a good influence.”

The final addition to the full-time staff is English, who was promoted from assisting with game-planning both on defense and special teams to a full-time position. 

He started his college football career as a defensive player at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina, tallying 216 tackles (132 solo), forcing two fumbles, and three picks as well as completing 3.5 sacks. He was also a two-time All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference performer, which earned him third-team honors in 2012 and a second-team nod in 2013.

His coaching career began at his alma mater as a safeties coach as well as a stint as linebackers coach. Toward the end of his Guilford career he served as a defensive coordinator, primary defensive play caller and coordinator for special teams in his final year. 

Also at Guilford, English mentored six players to All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference honors and coached one All-American. 

Junior Ben Murphy said the new coaches are great additions to the program and seem to have a common goal in helping the team succeed.

“Just great guys,” Murphy said. “We’re excited to have them on the team.”

The Mountain Hawks have the spring and early summer seasons to adapt to new coaching leadership before heading into the fall of 2022.

Lehigh’s 2022 season opener against Villanova is Sept. 2.