Football Adds 2 Assistants
The University of Findlay football program has announced the hiring of two assistant football coaches, who will work on the defensive side of the ball for the Oilers.
Jason Makrinos will serve as the Oilers defensive coordinator and Jake Zweig will be in charge of the defensive line for Findlay in 2015.
Makrinos comes to the Oilers after serving as the co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Duquesne University in 2014. Before his stay at Duquesne, Makrinos was on staff at Slippery Rock University, where he spent four years as a defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator.
Prior to his stint at Slippery Rock, Makrinos spent two seasons at Carnegie Mellon where he served as defensive backs coach, assistant recruiting coordinator and strength and conditioning coach.
Makrinos was a graduate defensive assistant at Kent State in 2007 where he helped mentor two cornerbacks who appeared on NFL rosters including Jack Williams, the fourth-round draft pick of the Denver Broncos in 2008.
Prior to joining the Kent State staff, Makrinos worked with the linebackers and defensive backs at Slippery Rock as The Rock's football graduate assistant in 2005 and 2006.
Makrinos, who attended Peters Township High School, played collegiately at Westminster College. As an undergrad, Makrinos earned a spot on the Presidents' Athletic Conference academic honor roll and also earned a Collegiate All-American Scholar Award.
Makrinos started his coaching career at his alma mater in 2004 as a student assistant working with the defensive line as well as helping with recruiting.
Makrinos graduated from Westminster with a bachelor of arts degree in psychology in 2005 and completed a master's degree in sports management from Slippery Rock in 2007.
Zweig came to the Oilers after serving as the special teams coordinator/outside linebackers coach at the University of Incarnate Word from 2012-14. Before that Zweig had a number of stops during his coaching career. In 2011, Zweig was with Bryant University and was also selected for the NFL's Bill Walsh Minority Fellowship with the Oakland Raiders. He was also a defensive line/special teams coach at the University of New Hampshire (2009-10), a special teams/defensive line/wide receivers coach at Catholic University of America (2006-07) and a wide receivers coach at the University of Maryland (2005-06).
As well as being an assistant football coach, Zweig has also developed a leadership program comprised of leadership skills training, problem solving scenarios and rigorous team-bonding workouts. He has employed his leadership program at Ohio University and the University of New Hampshire.
Zweig graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1995 as a commissioned officer. He served as a surface warfare officer for two years onboard the U.S.S. Merrimack before reporting for Navy SEAL training at Basic Underwater Demolition School. SEAL training is the most grueling and demanding physical and mental regimen in the world and Zweig not only excelled at the challenge, but mentored the other trainees through the program and was named the SEAL class leader. Following his SEAL training, Zweig reported to SEAL Team 8 in Little Creek, Va. and attained the rank of lieutenant.
In 2011, Zweig took a brief hiatus from football to accept the the History Channel's invitation to compete in the television show "Top Shot." He earned expert pistol and rifle marksmanship awards in the Navy and sought to showcase the elite Navy SEAL training and esprit de corps. Mr. Zweig eagerly competed against law enforcement officers, military snipers and professional shooters during the competition.
Zweig has earned a master's of business administration from the University of Michigan and a bachelor's of science degree in computer science from the U.S. Naval Academy. His athletic record at the Naval Academy includes playing nose guard for George Chaump, varsity wrestling and an intensive swimming routine in preparation to be a Navy diver.
A native of Steilacoom, Wash., he attended the Charles Wright Academy of Tacoma where he was inducted into the hall of fame as a member of the 1989 state runner-up football team. He was also a state wrestling champion and a member of the varsity golf team.