Grand Valley State University’s football team recently announced the hiring of two defensive coaches, along with a new offensive coordinator for the upcoming 2026 season. Head Coach Scott Wooster confirmed the hiring of Marquez Gollman and Steve Gardiner for the 2026 season.
After having departed for other roles, numerous spots on the coaching staff were left with vacancies. Gollman will be joining as the defensive back coach and Gardiner will be the new special teams coordinator, as well as leading the linebacker group. On the other side of the ball, Wooster announced the Lakers have appointed a new offensive coordinator/quarterback coach through the hiring of Eli Reinhart.
Both Gollman and Gardiner have previous ties to GVSU, with Gollman being a former All-American linebacker for the Lakers and Gardiner being a former defensive graduate assistant.
Gollman recently completed his second year on the coaching staff at the University of Texas Permian Basin, playing a role in their playoff run the past two seasons. Along with two playoff appearances at UTPB, Gollman coached multiple all-conference defensive backs, displaying his ability to coach up a secondary. He will now bring his experiences to the team he once played for himself.
Gollman detailed what coming back to Allendale means to him and how it’s the perfect fit for his coaching career.
“It’s honestly a dream come true — it’s home,” said Gollman. “It’s a full-circle moment and I feel I feel right back at home.”
Gollman described how he plans to coach up the defensive backs and mold them into young leaders.
“It’s a mindset,” said Gollman. “(You) make sure you do what you are supposed to do when you are supposed to do it.”
Gollman will be working in conjunction with Gardiner, the new linebacker coach. Gardiner formerly played college football at Michigan State University and spent time at multiple programs in the coaching ranks, including at GVSU. When he was coaching at Tiffin University in the special teams unit, Gardiner helped lead the Dragons in statistics.
Gardiner emphasized the most important lesson he wants players to learn from him.
“(You need to have) that growth mindset,” said Gardiner. “There is always room to improve.”
Gardiner further described his top priority this next season, hoping a closer team can lead the Lakers to a championship win.
“(I want to) get to know them (the players),” said Gardiner. “Build the relationship and build that trust.”
On the other side of the ball, Reinhart was most recently the head coach of Hutto High School in Texas for the 2025 season. He has led explosive and high-scoring offenses, taking Hutto from 4-6 to 9-3 this past season.
Wooster said the program was aggressive in their search for a new OC, and wanted a candidate who would be able to run an explosive system that rewards their best players.
GVSU looks to rebound from missing the playoffs last season, with the hires of Gollman, Gardiner and Reinhart being a step in the right direction, according to Wooster.
