Mike Barela was hired as the offensive line coach at Northeastern State in January 2012. He also added the title of recruiting coordinator in January 2013, and is entering his second year with the RiverHawks.
The 2012 season was Northeastern State’s first in the MIAA, and Barela helped guide an offensive line that featured five new starters. He helped produce a 1,000-yard rusher (NSU’s first since 2005) and two all-conference offensive linemen, one who also earned All-American accolades.
NSU’s offense averaged 374.1 yards of total offense per game (175.7 yds rushing / 198.4 yds passing) and 23.1 points per game. The offensive line only allowed 11 sacks in 338 pass attempts for the entire year.
Joel Rockmore, NSU's leading rusher, ranked second in the MIAA and 23rd in NCAA Division II as he gained 1,024 yards (113.8 yds per game / 5.5 yds per attempt).
Barela has also served on the coaching staffs of Southwest Baptist University, Texas State University, University of North Texas, Sam Houston State University, and Morningside College.
In 2011, his lone season at Southwest Baptist, Barela helped the Bearcats to their third consecutive winning season. Barela’s offensive line helped SBU’s spread offense average 154.8 rushing yards per game with 20 rushing TD’s. Overall, the offense averaged 376.7 total yards and 26 points per game.
Prior to SBU, Barela served as the tight ends coach / Director of Football Operations at Texas State University from 2007-10. During his tenure at Texas State, he was part of a staff that helped establish numerous school records, including a conference championship (2008).
Highlights include:
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2010 - Tight ends helped the Bobcat offense rush for 144.6 yards per game.
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2009 - Bobcat offense ranked 7th nationally with 288.9 yards passing per game. The tight ends combined to catch 17 passes for 121 yards and one touchdown. Texas State also ranked 12th in scoring offense with nearly 32 points per game. Texas State’s rushing attack gained over 1,400 yards on 348 carries and 23 touchdowns.
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2008 - Bobcat offense finished #7 nationally in scoring (36 points per game), and #8 in total offense (453.2 yards per game). TE’s also helped pave the way with 184.1 rushing yards per game and played a key role in the passing game that averaged 269.2 yards per game. John Gilley earned All-Southland Conference honors after he caught 13 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns.
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2007 - Barela’s tight ends combined to catch 19 passes for 176 yards and one touchdown, along with helping to open holes for Texas State’s rushing attack that finished with 2,172 yards and scored 19 TDs.
From 2002-06, Barela served as the Director of Football Operations at North Texas. While a member of Darrell Dickey’s Mean Green staff, Barela was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the football program. He had extensive involvement in the daily schedules of the coaching staff and student-athletes including practices, study halls and team meetings. During his tenure, Barela played an integral role in North Texas’ preparation and travel to the 2002-04 New Orleans Bowls. UNT went on to win three straight Sun Belt Conference Championships during Barela’s five seasons.
In 2000 and '01, Barela coached the tight ends for Coach Ron Randleman at Sam Houston State. Barela coached First-Team All-America tight end Keith Heinrich during his two seasons at Sam Houston State. Heinrich would go on to be the sixth-round pick of the Carolina Panthers in the 2002 NFL Draft. During his two seasons with Sam Houston State, the Bearkats had a combined 17-7 record. Sam Houston State was 10-3 in 2001 and captured a share of the Southland Conference championship.
Barela’s coaching experience also includes time at Morningside College (1999) where he was the offensive line coach and coordinated the strength and conditioning program. He helped produce two all-conference offensive linemen.
He was a graduate assistant coach at North Texas from 1996-98, working with the tight ends and offensive line. He was a two-year letterman at North Texas, playing linebacker and special teams for the 1994 and '95 UNT squads. The Mean Green captured a Southland Conference title in 1994, the team’s final year in the league.
Barela graduated from North Texas in 1996 with a bachelor of science degree in kinesiology. He was married in July 2011 to the former Lauren Miller and the couple are expecting their first child in February 2013.
