Austin Flyger, a former All-North Central Conference defensive lineman at Augustana, was named North Dakota’s defensive line coach in February of 2020. The 2024 season will be his fifth on staff.
Coach Flyger’s defensive line helped North Dakota have a successful 2023 campaign and played a significant role on fourth downs, providing pressure on opposing quarterbacks and helping the Fighting Hawks finish the year ranked No. 3 in the MVFC in fourth down conversion percentage, turning teams away from first downs on fourth down attempts 47.8 percent of the time. UND was also disciplined up front throughout the season, ending the year ranked No. 2 in the country for the second straight year in penalties per game, with the entire team only getting flagged 3.5 times per contest.
In 2022, Ben McNaboe had a breakout year on the defensive line, finishing the season ranked No. 4 in the conference in both tackles-for-loss per game (1.1) and sacks per game (0.59). He gained all-conference accolades during the year and paced UND in both sacks (6.5) and TFL’s (13). Along with McNaboe on the defensive line, Flyger had one of the more disciplined groups in the country, helping the Hawks rank No. 1 in the MVFC and No. 2 in the nation in penalties per game with only 3.67 flags thrown per game.
His group improved once again in 2021, holding opponents to under 140 yards per game on the ground and ranking near the top of the Missouri Valley and FCS in total scoring defense. Led by a dominating rotation of players, Chandon finished with 21 tackles to pace all defensive linemen. Newcomer McNaboe earned MVFC All-Newcomer Team honors after finishing with 19 tackles, a pair of sacks, an interception and three tackles for loss.
In his first season, Flyger helped guide a defensive line that improved on all fronts in stopping the run, creating negative plays and forcing turnovers. Redshirt sophomore defensive end Jaelen Johnson anchored the line with 13 total tackles, 1.5 TFLs, a sack and three quarterback hurries to help UND reach the FCS quarterfinals for the first time in program history during the 2020-21 season.
Flyger returned to North Dakota, where he started his coaching career as the defensive line coach in 2007-08, after stints at both the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and Division II levels. Most recently before UND, he served as the defensive coordinator for Northern State in 2019, where he helped guide the Wolves to a winning record and a defense that ranked near the top in rushing and red zone defense.
Prior to his second stint at Northern State, Flyger worked at Southern Illinois for seven seasons. While at SIU, he worked with AFCA All-American Ken Boatright, who went on to play in the National Football League with the Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks, Deondre Barnett, who signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2017, and Anthony Knighton, who was the runner-up for the MVFC Freshman of the Year.
For two seasons, Flyger joined the Northern State staff in his first stint with the Wolves, spending two seasons as the defensive line coach. He worked closely with NSIC first team selection Lincoln Smith during the 2011 season before returning to Southern Illinois.
Flyger was a standout player at Augustana from 2000-03, where he earned All-North Central Conference honors and was named the league’s most valuable defensive lineman as a senior in 2003. Flyger went on to play three seasons with the Sioux Falls Storm of the United Indoor Football League before embarking on a coaching career.
He is a 2005 graduate of Augustana with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Flyger and his wife, Kirsten have two daughters, Norah and Naomi.
