Jay Long                Brad McCaslin              Chris Stein

CHADRON – Chadron State College has announced three finalists for the head football coaching position at the school.

Jay Long, Brad McCaslin and Chris Stein were chosen as finalists from a field of more than 40 candidates.

All three will conduct on-campus interviews with the search committee Thursday and Friday. An announcement on the head coaching position could be announced early next week.

“The search committee and I feel we have found three capable men from a solid group of candidates who can lead the football program to new heights,” CSC athletic director Brad Smith said.

“I know personally what it takes to be the head football coach at Chadron State and I’m confident the search committee and I will be able to find the best coach for the program and the college.”

A brief biography of each head coach candidate in alphabetical order follows.

Jay Long

Long is the head coach at Black Hills State, which is in its transition to Division II and will join the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in the fall.

He joined the Yellowjackets in 2003 and served as offensive line coach, offensive coordinator, recruiting coordinator, and strength and conditioning coach before being named head coach in 2009. His 3 year record is 15-15.

Long played for Chadron State from 1996-99, where he was a Farm Team All-American and 2-time All-RMAC center. The Eagles won period 3 RMAC titles and reached the NCAA D-II playoffs twice during that time.

Long also wrestled for Chadron State, qualifying for the NCAA D-II national tournament, and played professional indoor football for 2 seasons.

Long earned a bachelor’s of science from CSC in the spring of 2001, then became a graduate assistant at Wayne State College, where he obtained a master’s of science in sports management in 2003.

Brad McCaslin

McCaslin was a coach at the University of Nebraska-Omaha from 1997 to when the program was discontinued in 2011.

His titles included assistant head coach (2007-11), defensive coordinator (2005-11), recruiting coordinator (2001-05), special teams coordinator (2003-05) and video coordinator (2004-07). He was also a graduate assistant there from 1997-2000.

During his time as a full coach at UNO, the Mavericks had a record of 110-48 and won six conference championships. Two of the players he coached became All-Americans and four went to the NFL.

McCaslin earned a bachelor’s of arts from Hastings College in 1994 and taught at Omaha's Benson High School, where he was an assistant football coach and head soccer coach.

Chris Stein

Stein has been the quarterbacks coach at Chadron State since 2004 and added the role of offensive coordinator last fall. During his time as an assistant coach, the Eagles have tallied a record of 60-22 and won three RMAC championships.

Prior to that, Stein was head coach of the indoor the Wyoming Cavalry in 2003 and Casper Cavalry in 2000. He also had high school head coaching stops at Julesburg (1992-93), Gordon (1994-97) and Gering High (1998).

Stein played tight end for Smith's first 3 teams at Chadron State from 1987-89, finishing fourth on the school's career receptions list, and was inducted into CSC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006.

He earned a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1991 and a master’s of science in education administration from in 2003, both from Chadron State.