After eight seasons at Wisconsin, Haering's time wiht the Badgers came to an end at the conclusion of the 2022 season. Haering coached the special teams for seven seasons before transitioning to tight ends coach in 2022.
Haering’s special teams units have helped the Badgers post a combined 65-23 record, claim three Big Ten West Division titles and score six bowl game wins — making three appearances in New Year’s Six bowls (Cotton, Orange, Rose).
The Badgers won a school-record 13 games in 2017, with junior kicker Rafael Gaglianone playing a key role. Bouncing back from an injury-shortened season a year earlier, Gaglianone converted 16 of 18 field goal attempts, a percentage of 88.9 that ranked him No. 4 nationally and stands as the second-best mark in school history.
Gaglianone finished his career as UW’s all-time leader with 70 field goals and 216 extra points.
Haering has overseen a massive improvement in the Badgers’ kickoff unit. The trend began in 2016, with UW recording touchbacks on 63 percent of those kickoffs. In the season prior to Haering’s arrival, only 30 percent of the Badgers’ kickoffs went for touchbacks.
That trend continued in 2017 when the Badgers led the Big Ten in kickoff average at 64.1 yards per kick and recorded touchbacks on 65.9 percent of them. Sophomore Zach Hintze was the individual league leader at 64.1 yards per kickoff and converted 68.4 percent of his kicks into touchbacks.
The numbers continued to improve in 2018, with Hintze delivering touchbacks on 81.8 percent of his kicks, the nation’s No. 7 mark and the best showing by a Big Ten kicker. He again led the Big Ten as a senior in 2019, averaging 64.2 yards per kick — fourth-best nationally — and hitting touchbacks on 77.5 percent of his kicks. Hintze also booted a school-record 62-yard field goal.
The Badgers’ return game got a big boost in 2019 as UW ranked third nationally in kickoff returns, at 28.4 yards per runback. Aron Cruickshank ran back a pair of touchdowns and finished No. 6 among FBS players, at 29.3 yards per kick return, while Jack Dunn led the Big Ten by averaging 8.3 yards per punt return.
Wisconsin also ranked No. 7 nationally in kick return defense (17.0 average) in 2019, the second time that unit finished among the nation’s top 10 under Haering (fifth in 2015).
He joined the Badgers’ staff after spending three seasons at Pittsburgh under Paul Chryst. After coaching linebackers in 2012 and 2013, Haering added the title of special teams coordinator and focused on outside linebackers in 2014.
Individually, Tyler Boyd led the ACC in kickoff returns that season, averaging 27.6 yards per runback, and ranked No. 2 in punt returns at 10.1 yards per return.
Before joining the staff at Pitt, Haering spent 17 seasons as head coach at Mt. Lebanon (Pa.) High School. His coaching career began as a graduate assistant at West Virginia in 1991 following his playing days with the Mountaineers, when he first crossed paths with Chryst, who also was a GA at West Virginia.
Haering and his wife, Melissa, have a daughter, Madison, and a son, Mark.
Haering's Coaching Career
1995-2011: Head Coach, Mt. Lebanon (Pa.) High School
2012-13: Linebackers, Pittsburgh
2014: Special Teams/Outside Linebackers, Pittsburgh
2015-21: Special Teams, Wisconsin
2022-present: Tight Ends, Wisconsin
