Bucknell Football Welcomes Their 28th Bob Odell Head Coach, Jeff Behrman
By: Benjamin Snyder | SportzWire | January 10, 2026
LEWISBURG, PA - This afternoon, at 3:30pm, Bucknell University hosted a press conference for the induction of their new head football coach, Jeff Behrman. The press conference took place at the lobby of the Graham Building.
Behrman made the jump from head coaching at division 3 program, John Carroll, to joining Bucknell on January 1st of 2026. Behrman led the Blue Streaks to a 27-9 record over a three-year span, and he plans on continuing his success at Bucknell.
General Overview
Not everything from the lengthy press conference can be covered in one write-up, however, some key words stuck out in response to my questions, and other media member's questions as well. During the press conference, Coach Jeff Behrman empathized that he has a vision for his football team. He wants his athletes to be strong both athletically and academically. Coach Behrman also touched on how excited he is to compete in the Patriot League. He believes the Patriot League is one of the most competitive leagues in the country and is ready to get the ground running. Coach emphasized the importance of the transfer portal and mentioned that the date of his hiring was crucial to begin recruitment (the portal opened one day after his hiring).
Questions from us - Ben Snyder - Coach Jeff Behrman
When asked about what the support he's received in his first week at Bucknell means to him, he stated,
"I think as human beings we just want to be valued"... "We want someone to believe in us". Coach Behrman then mentioned how he appreciated the university staff for believing in him and believing he was worthy of becoming the next head coach at Bucknell. Coach later stated, "This is not about me", later stating, "I want our players to be front and center for our program". The last important piece of his response was that Bucknell's three pillars are, "Family, Trust, and Commitment". He mentioned that his players will know all about those three words on the first day of practice (January 19th).
The following questions were recorded after the press conference
When asked how he would compare his first week at Stony Brook (D-1 FCS OC), to his first week at Bucknell, he stated,
"It's very similar", (but) "there really was no transfer portal then". He said that there wasn't much difference between the two other than the transfer portal. The transfer portal is everything in today's game, but many years ago it didn't have much existence.
My final question consisted of asking how important it's going to be to establish relationships with the members of the university and the Lewisburg community in general. Coach Behrman's response,
"It's incredibly important", "People help your program have success, and it's gonna take everybody to support us to get us where we want to be".
Coach received the honor of being presented during halftime of the men's basketball game VS. Loyola (MD) as well.
That's all from SportzWire at coach Jeff Behrman's opening press conference.
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