On June 15, 2023, Mendez made WWU history when he was named the Owls’ first-ever head football coach. He brings 13 years of coaching experience at different college levels (NAIA, NJCAA and NCAA Division II) and high school (Class 6A Texas High School) football to the Owls, including as an associate head coach, offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator.

 “I think that’s what has prepared me,” Mendez said. “Who knows with what happens with different things, but each time, something new pops up as I reflect back on being an assistant and being at different levels, from being at the Division II level to the junior college level to being in the NAIA and being at a program that historically was very successful, and working, in my opinion, being a player and then working for a head coach like Kent Kessinger, who was at Ottawa University for 18 years, and did things very successfully to where I stem back a lot of those things. 

“He gave me a lot of opportunities to do some of the things that you would do as a head coach. A lot of that responsibility is what I think tags back to me being prepared, or at least being in a situation to where I can handle some of those things because of the experience that I got as an assistant.” 

In Dr. Kessinger's 17 seasons (2004-21) in charge of Ottawa, an NAIA program in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference, the Braves went 108-85 overall and 96-67 in the KCAC, won four KCAC titles and made six straight appearances in the NAIA Football Championship Series between 2009-14. 

Although Mendez no longer works with Kessinger, he still communicates with him and receives advice from him. 

“I try to reach out to coach Kessinger as much as possible,” Mendez said. “I'm not trying to bug him too much just because he’s enjoying his retired life, but I'm just asking him some questions: Have you dealt with this? What do you think of here? Or, what do we do with this?"  

“Trying to reach out to some other coaches who I’ve worked with, as well as just who are assistants around the same time as I was, to kind of just play off of, ‘Hey, we always talked about these were the things we were going to do as a head coach. Do you still think that way? How do you do that?’ Nick Davis at Ottawa University, currently, I’ll call or text him and see, ‘Hey, what do you think about this?’ Or, you’re going into your third year and how those things have changed and maybe what he looks at now.” 

By asking those questions, Mendez found things he could apply to his role as the Owls’ coach. 

“Kent Kessinger used to tell us some things: in situations where you're dealing with players, you’re going to be fair but never equal,” Mendez said. “That’s something that I’ve applied now when we talk about things: We’re always going to be fair, but things aren’t always equal within that standpoint of different circumstances, different situations, but how do you always ensure that things are fair? 

“That’s something that right away is how we’re going to develop the program. In that program with Kent Kessinger, there was a lot about family atmosphere and how we can do things, and we were going to keep our staff family-oriented as well. That was one of the first things I wanted to do to make sure that we were taking care of our players, and our coaching staff also understands that their lives are important, and so their families are important to what we’re going to do here.”

Heading into his first year at the Woods, Mendez will run a spread offense.

The Owls' offensive playbook will be developed by d by offensive coordinator Sam Camp, most recently served as offensive coordinator under head coach Billy Hickman. Under Camp’s direction, the Mustangs averaged 258.4 yards of passing per game in 2023, leading the Lone Star Conference.

Camp also served under previous Western New Mexico State coach Philip Vigil as the wide receivers and tight ends coach, pass game coordinator, recruiting coordinator and video coordinator, helping in the development of 2021 Lone Star leaders wide receiver Josh Powell (61 receptions) and quarterback Devin Larsen (266.1 yards per game and 244 completions).

Between 2018-19, Camp was the Kansas Wesleyan wide receivers and tight ends coach, serving as the program's video coordinator. In 2018, Kansas Wesleyan ranked No. 3 in total offense in the NAIA and improved to No. 2 in ‘19. The Coyotes qualified for the NAIA Football Championship Series in both seasons of Camp’s tenure.

“We’ll be a power-spread offense,” Mendez said. “Coach Camp has been able to develop his offense now, being his second stint as an offensive coordinator. I think with us it allows us to see how we are going to get the ball in our playmakers' hands as quickly as possible, as best as possible, and as many times as possible by still keeping the frame of mind of what we want to be run emphasis and do the right things. Make sure that we’re going to keep defenses honest, but put some pressure on them and make sure that they know that they will have to defend us entire field, width and length. It’s exciting to see.

"Right away, when you talk to coach Camp, you see the excitement, you feel the excitement, and when you’re able to see it in practice, it’s understanding that we’re lucky to have coach Camp here.” 

The Owls' defensive look falls to defensive coordinator Steven Dudley, who joined the Woods after a a 10-year stint as Fort Hays State’s special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach. 

During his nine seasons at Hays, Dudley helped the Tigers to a 65-38 record, including four postseason appearances. He helped FHSU to its first-ever postseason win in 2016 (45-12 over Eastern New Mexico) in the Heart of Texas Bowl, followed by back-to-back MIAA championships and NCAA Division II playoff appearances in 2017-18. The 2017 campaign saw the Tigers earn a perfect 11-0 regular season record. 

“He comes from a 4-2-5 system and knowing that being at the NAIA level, you need to be able to be adaptive to personnel and who you’re going to have is being able to do little things multiple wise,” Mendez said. “We’ll be able to show different fronts, show some different looks from packages, but be able to base into those principles.”

In his last five seasons with the Tigers, Dudley helped 18 players earn All-MIAA honors between defensive backs and special teams players, with nine of those players also gaining recognition on the Don Hansen Football Committee All-America teams.

Among Dudley’s standout special teams players was Dante Brown, who earned back-to-back selections as the Don Hansen Football Committee National Special Teams Player of the Year as well as the MIAA Special Teams Player of the Year nod in 2018 (punter/kicker) and 2019 (punter). In 2018, Dudley helped Brown to an NCAA Division II best 28 field goal makes, an all-NCAA best average of 2.33 field goals per game and a 41.4-yard punting average. 

In addition to Brown (41st pick, Edmonton Eskimos [CFL]), Dudley also helped defensive back Doyin Jibowu and kicker/punter Brandon Brown earn chances at the professional level. Brown was invited to several NFL free agent rookie mini-camps after his college career in 2017, with Jibowu signing and playing in the 2019 preseason with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent and the XFL’s Dallas Renegades.

Dudley was a defensive back at Washburn University, earning four MIAA Academic Honor Roll selections. As a prep, he was an all-conference selection at free safety for Park Hill South as a junior and senior and played quarterback for the Panthers.

“I think the fun part about coach Dudley is you always know where he is because he’s extremely fiery on the field because he wants things done with a process-oriented mindset, which is who we are as a program,” Mendez said. “It’s a perfect opportunity to have coach Dudley; this is his first opportunity to call his defense and be in charge of those things. This is the perfect spot for both of us, and he’s our associate head coach. It’s an amazing opportunity, I think, to have him.”

For the Owls’ inaugural team, understanding the playbook and executing the plays differs from most. And it’s a process that goes back to the last school year, in the spring. 

“Right away, we have an opportunity this spring to have coach Dudley and coach Camp here, and we had our 20 guys, who we had in the spring,” Mendez said. “They got a little bit of a jump in on some of the systems and were able to do some OTA-type things this spring to have that stuff in. But this summer, once we started to develop the class a bit more, getting ready for this fall, coach Camp and coach Dudley jumped on Zooms with some of our guys, offensive and defensively, to have them. Then, this summer, we were able to have a summer session where 45 guys were able to be on campus and take some classes and work out, and we were able to talk a little bit of ball. They could see a little bit, too, from that point.

When we reported on the first of August and got started in our first practice, we had already been able to go through the systems and get that in. So it was a little bit easier. It wasn’t as brand new, but again, it’s starting the program brand new. It’s a bit of a learning curve to start so early and play an early game when you’re trying to get ready right as August starts.”

Diving into William Woods’ roster, Mendez believed the Owls have skill position players that’ll be enjoyable to watch this year.

“Our skill players are going to be something to watch and to have some fun with,” Mendez said. “We have some leadership in our quarterback room with Gabe Serri. He’s a transfer from in the conference, so he can see what that looks like and do some things. On the defensive side of the ball, I think we have some guys transferring into the program who can lead and do some things the right way and who will probably allow us to move around and do some things. Overall, we have a good core group of guys that will be showing up on Saturdays. It’s an exciting time to see those guys run around.”

WWU will have an upperclassman under center in Junior Gabe Serri, who transferred from Benedictine, a Heart South rival.

This will be Serri’s first year receiving game time in college. According to stlhighschoolsports.com, in 2020, his senior season at then-Class 4 MSHSAA program St. Dominic, Serri completed 143 of 247 passes (57.89 percent) for 2,182 yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions and had 55 rushing attempts for 400 yards and five touchdowns in 12 games.

“He’s extremely intelligent,” Mendez said. “That’s something that right away you notice when you talk to him, and he focuses on the process and how we’re doing things. I think he and coach Camp’s relationship has flourished within that because he’s eager to continue to learn and progress in how we’re doing things because he wants to be able to take hold of what’s going on. I think that’s something that’s led us to see some of his change, even from the spring to the summer, has progressed in the things he needed to progress on, and he understood it. He took that challenge, which has been fun. He’s going to be someone who I think is going to be able to do things correctly to get us to be able to have some success on the field.” 

Outside of Serri, Mendez spotlighted a number of Owls who could impress in the debut season.

“Our running back room with Atari Amos and Chris Hunter, those guys are doing the right things and making sure that we’re doing those things,” Mendez said. “We had a transfer in DeMarcus Carr, who came in this summer and has taken on a leadership role as well from a skill position. In the wideout room, you have Troy Oliver, Jalen Becerra, and Jorden Price; he was a guy who was here this spring as well. Those guys stick out right away. A tight end, a new guy; I hope he stays a secret until game day, but I think Arin Spears will do some things for us. It’s a whole group. It’s exciting we have a young offensive line group, and it’s fun to see. With me being the offensive line coach, it’s exciting to work with them.”

Defensively, freshman cornerback Carter Holloway will be a key player. This year will be Holloway’s second academic year of college. According to stlhighschoolsports.com, he recorded 41 tackles, including one for a loss in 2022, during his senior year at MSHSAA Class 6 Troy Buchanan.

“He played at Troy Buchanan High School, and he ended up going to Mizzou and not playing football the fall semester,” Mendez said. “Then, once this became an opportunity here at The Woods, he realized how much he missed football, and I realized right away, ‘Why wasn’t this kid playing football this fall?’ Because he definitely should have.

“He was someone that garnered a bunch of offers and could do some things, but he showed up right away, and you can see his skill set from an athlete standpoint, in the weight room, obviously in the classroom as well; he does the right things. It was easy to view from that, but now, seeing him move around and he can change positions, I think he played a bit of corner in high school. We had him move into safety. We even played him a little bit in the box with some things, and he’s taken on that role in whatever it is. That’s the pinpoint to me, too, of someone who’s going to be able to lead and do the right things. They can adjust their skill set and play it into the defense's needs.”

However, Holloway isn’t the only Owl on the defensive side to look out for. Mendez shared who else could shine defensively for WWU.

“Up front with the D-line, we have a very young core, but one of our true freshmen, Sovereign Morton, is a true freshman out of Braswell, Texas, and has done some great things this fall camp and has pushed himself to be a leader, which is always pretty crazy to see as a true freshman, showing up this summer, doing those things, doing the right things and being able to lead a position group,” Mendez said. “In the secondary, a transfer that we have, O’Neal Cotton, has been able to separate himself, do some things, and show those pieces of what we need. We have Jaylen Scruggs, one of our guys from this spring, who’s also an (NCAA) Division II transfer. He has always been that person who is pretty reliable in the back end and makes sure that guys are doing what they need to do up front. 

“It’s exciting; it’s something that’s so much fun to see. It’s so much fun to see those guys move around. Now, as the head coach, sometimes I have to celebrate some of the defensive successes on the field and make sure that they know that I see it and that I’m praising them for doing some of that good stuff.”

On special teams, WWU kicker/punter Justin Sharkey will be a familiar name to Owls men’s soccer fans. Sharkey was a goalkeeper for Woods a season ago and decided to use his kicking skills for American football this fall.

“If any Owls followers will know that person, if they’re around here, who knows, he’s a former soccer player here,” Mendez said. “Now taking on the role as a kicker, punter with us, and has jumped full in on it. He’s so much fun to work with and to watch because he has a great personality, which all special teams people do. They have a great personality, but he can change some games with his leg. It’s just about making sure that he changes his mindset into that of a football player as a kicker and understands some things. But that has been fun to see. It’s been fun this fall camp to see him develop. He was here this spring and did some things when we didn’t have many people here, and now, seeing if he can do some things when we have that roster, it’s fun. It’s a blast to see him progress with that as well.” 

William Woods will play an 11-game regular season, with 10 Heart of America Athletic Conference contests and one nonconference matchup. The Owls will play all six Heart South opponents as well as four crossover games against Heart North divisions schools.

“Right away, playing William Penn is a fun opportunity,” Mendez said. “(William Penn coach) Marc Benavidez, we had some run-ins when he was at Avila and I was at Ottawa, and he did some great things at Avila. I expect wholeheartedly that he will do those things and get it going. At Penn, it’s a fun opportunity to start a little bit of a ‘rivalry’ with the Billy Bowl. It’s so much fun to see both of our groups have fun, but I have much respect for them.

“Playing Grand View is tough. They’re always going to be ranked in the Top 5 in the country. They do the right things. They do it well, understand who they are, and will ensure that happens.

“All year I could probably piece together something of why that will be a fun game. You play Central Methodist, an hour away, so that gets a little rivalry from that aspect. You play Missouri Baptist, so that also brings some of the AMC rivalry aspects into it. I think those are the fun parts that we’re going to have to be able to create and create a lot of those rivalries within the conference and to continue them. 

“Westminster is the only nonconference matchup we have this year, and I think it’s so much fun for the community to have and be able to do that. To me, it was a must to get signed up for a game with Westmo, and that way, it can bridge the community. I think it ends up being maybe their Homecoming is what they have it set at or something. It’s a huge game, no matter what. We’re hoping everybody from here tailgates and then goes down there. It’ll be an exciting time. They have a pretty nice setup to host and do some things. Hopefully, that thing looks a bit greener than it would be on a regular Saturday. But, it’s going to be exciting.”