COACHING STAFF

Bob Ritter - Michael G. Heinecken Head Coach of Football

Ritter joined the Panther football staff in 1996 and was named the Michael G. Heinecken Head Coach in 2000.

In 2019, he guided the team to a perfect 9-0 season en route to claiming the league title. The Panthers have also captured NESCAC Championships in 2007 and 2013 with Ritter taking home NESCAC Coach of the Year honors in all three championship seasons. He was a finalist for the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Coach of the Year Award in 2007.

Under Ritter’s guidance, three players earned All-American awards, with three going on to National Football League (NFL) rookie camps. One former Panther, Stephen Hauschka, played in back-to-back Super Bowls in 2014 and 2015, earning a Super Bowl ring on February 2, 2014, while kicking for the NFL Seattle Seahawks. Former quarterback McCallum Foote ‘14 was a finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy—Division III’s top honor—he also received a coveted NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship.

A Holden, Massachusetts native, Ritter began his coaching career immediately following his graduation from Middlebury in 1982. The freshly-minted graduate with an economics degree joined Heinecken’s coaching staff that fall, spending six years as the defensive coordinator. Following those years at Middlebury, Ritter accepted a coaching position at Tufts University as the men’s lacrosse head coach and assistant football coach.

In the fall of 1996, Ritter returned to Middlebury to serve as an assistant football and assistant men’s lacrosse coach, before being named the head coach of the football program in December 2000 following Heinecken’s retirement.

Ritter continues to work as an assistant coach in the spring for the three-time NCAA Championship men’s lacrosse team.

Dave Caputi - Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line

Caputi joined the Panther football staff in 2015 as the team’s offensive coordinator.

A 1981 graduate of Middlebury, Caputi earned his undergraduate degree in American history. On the gridiron, he was the starting quarterback for a Panther squad that finished the 1980 season with a 6-1-1 record. In 1994, Caputi earned his master’s degree in education from North Adams State College in Massachusetts.

In 2019, Caputi helped the Panthers become the first NESCAC team to record an unblemished 9-0 mark enroute to the program’s fourth conference crown.

Caputi stepped down as the head coach at Bowdoin in the fall of 2014 following 15 seasons at the helm. During his tenure, he accumulated the fourth-most wins of any coach in program history (35) and led the Polar Bears to four CBB (Colby-Bates-Bowdoin) championships. Caputi directed a Bowdoin offense that rewrote the school record books, setting single-season and single-game records in passing yards, touchdowns and total offense during certain points of his tenure.

Caputi joined the Bowdoin staff after serving as the offensive coordinator for Williams College. In his 13 years at Williams, the Ephs compiled an 88-13-3 record with four undefeated seasons. Before joining Williams, Caputi served as both the quarterback and secondary coach for Tufts University from 1985 to 1986. Prior to that, he spent a pair of years coaching the offensive backfield and receivers at Amherst College.

Doug Mandigo - Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers

Mandigo joined the football staff at Middlebury in 2007, as the team’s defensive coordinator and linebacker’s coach. A 1996 graduate of the College, Mandigo served as an assistant coach in football, women’s hockey and baseball at his alma mater the year following his graduation.

During his time at Middlebury, Mandigo has helped the Panthers to three NESCAC titles (2007, 2013, 2019). In 2019, the squad became the first team in the conference to record an unblemished 9-0 mark.

He began his coaching career at St. Anselm where he served as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach in football for the 1997 and 1998 seasons. While earning his M.Ed. degree, Mandigo served as a graduate assistant in football at Boston College during the 1999 and 2000 seasons. He received his degree in 2001, and subsequently returned to Middlebury to work as an assistant professor in physical education. Mandigo also was the defensive coordinator and secondary coach in football as well as an assistant baseball coach through the spring of 2004.

In 2005, Mandigo moved to California, where he served as assistant baseball coach at Ohlone College and head football coach at Piedmont High School, receiving conference coach of the year honors. He returned east to Wesleyan in the fall of 2006, and was defensive coordinator for four seasons.

He spent the 2010 season in the professional ranks with United Football League’s (UFL) Hartford Colonials, where he coached future National Football League (NFL) players Emanuel Cook and Quintin Demps.

As an undergraduate at Middlebury, he was a rare three-sport athlete, lettering in football, ice hockey and baseball. He served as a team captain in the latter sport during his senior year.

Ryan Paquette - Defensive Backs/Recruiting Coordinator

Paquette joined the football coaching staff at Middlebury in the summer of 2014. He coaches the defensive backs, is the football team’s recruiting coordinator and also serves as the department’s strength and conditioning coach.

In 2019, Paquette helped the Panthers become the first NESCAC team to record an unblemished 9-0 mark en route to the program’s fourth conference crown. In his position as the strength and conditioning coach, Paquette provides sport-specific workout plans for each of the school’s varsity teams.

Paquette came to Middlebury from Maine Maritime Academy (MMA), where he was the defensive coordinator and strength and conditioning coach for two seasons. During his time at MMA, Paquette coached two All-New England Football Conference selections and guided a defense that ranked in the top three in fumble recoveries and defensive touchdowns in the New England Football Conference (NEFC).

Prior to MMA, he served for six seasons at Salve Regina University. Paquette coached all areas of the defense, including the defensive line, linebackers and defensive backs, as well as special teams. He also served as the team’s video coordinator.

Before entering collegiate coaching, Paquette held the title as the linebacker and running back coach for a year at the Pingree School in Massachusetts.

Paquette is a certified member of the United States of America Weightlifting (USAW) program as well as the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). He is also certified by the International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA), while holding an additional Strength and Conditioning Certification.

A 2007 graduate of Endicott with a degree in sport management, Paquette was a three-year letter winner for the Gulls football team and also a two-time Academic All-Conference selection.

Gus Brakeley - Defensive Line/Video Coordinator

Brakeley returns for his 12th season with the Panther football team in 2020-21, working with the defensive line for the 10th-straight year. He previously worked with the running backs and tight ends during the 2009 and 2010 campaigns.

In the spring, Brakeley will begin his 12th season as assistant coach of the three-time NCAA Champion men’s lacrosse team.

A Middlebury native, Brakeley earned his degree in political science in 2003 from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. He later earned his master’s degree at the school.

Brakeley, a member of the Vermont Shrine Maple Sugar all-star team in 1998, spent three seasons assisting with the Middlebury Union High School football team. (His father, former Panther player Peter Brakeley ’75, served as the long-time coach at MUHS.) He also assisted with the lacrosse team at Middlebury Union High School.

Michael Carr - Wide Receivers/Social Media Coordinator

Carr joined the football staff at Middlebury in the fall of 2020. The 2020 graduate of the College majored in psychology.

In 2019, Carr helped lead the Panthers to a perfect 9-0 mark en route to the NESCAC Championship. Following his stellar season, he was named to the All-NESCAC Second Team. Carr led the team with six pass break-ups in 2019, placing him eighth in the conference. Three of those came in a win over Hamilton, where he tied the school mark. The defensive back was second on the squad and third in the league with four interceptions, including two in a victory over Bowdoin. He finished the season with 23 tackles, 18 of them solo.

St. Clair Ryan - Running Backs/Tight Ends

St. Clair Ryan joined the football staff at Middlebury in the spring of 2022. Ryan comes to Middlebury from Brown where he served as the offensive quality control assistant for a year.

Ryan graduated from Anna Maria College in 2017 with a bachelor’s of science degree in sport management. He was a running back on the Amcats squad for all four years, serving as a captain during his senior campaign.

Upon graduation, Ryan spent four years coaching at Nichols College. He began as a graduate assistant during the 2017 season, before being promoted to an assistant coach in 2018. Throughout his time with the Bison, he coached running backs, wide receivers and was the special teams coordinator for a season.

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