Waddle played in the Wittenberg secondary for three seasons (2000-2002) and returned to Wittenberg in 2005 as an assistant coach. He was named defensive coordinator in 2006.
Wittenberg led the North Coast Athletic Conference in total defense in 2008, 2009 and 2010 and ranked first in NCAA Division III in total defense and scoring defense in 2009.
“Andy was not only a great coach, but he was a really good player,” Fincham said. “We have certainly got mileage out of Andy Waddle. He did a great job with our defense. That 2009 defense was as good as anything we’ve had in my 23 years at Wittenberg. He’s a tremendous recruiter and evaluator of talent. Guys play hard for him, and we’ll miss him.”
Waddle takes over a program that was 0-10 last season and hasn’t won more than three games since 2006. Head coach Jeff Filkovski resigned in November after going 10-40 in five seasons.
Marietta plays in the Ohio Athletic Conference with Mount Union, which won its record 11th national title this season.
“Andy’s had a bug to be a head coach, as much as I’ve tried to talk him out of it,” Fincham joked. “He’s had some phone interviews, and he’s had some on-campus interviews. He’s had some opportunities to leave us in the past and waited. I think he felt good about this one. Marietta’s built some pretty good facilities over the years. He’s excited.”
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