On February 4th, the Montana Griz head coach Bobby Hauck stepped down. Hauck had two stints as head coach for the Griz, the first one being from 2003-2009 and 2018-2025.
The announcement came as a shock for many players and fans, seeing as they have had successful seasons the past few years. They made it to the FCS championship in 2023, had a playoff win in 2024, and made a deep playoff run and offensive record in 2025.
Hauck will be the new Defense Coordinator at the University of Illinois.
For the Griz, the new head coach will be Bobby Kennedy who had been the wide receiver coach during the 2025 season.
Bobby Hauck 15 Seasons
2003-2009
Hauck first made his debut as head coach in 2003, replacing the previous head coach, Joe Glenn.
The first year he was head coach, he had an overall record of 9-4 and a Big Sky conference record of 5-2. His coaching career for the Griz started great with a ten-point victory over ranked #16 Main, with the final score being 30-20.
He also got a major victory over the Idaho Vandals, who at the time were in the Sun Belt conference, which has long been considered the better out of the two conferences.
Unfortunately, Hauck experienced some harsh losses that year with the Brawl of The Wild game against the Bobcats (Cats). The game ended in a score of 27-20. There was also the first-round playoff loss against Western Illinois.
The 2004 season was a breakout year for the Griz under Hauck’s leadership for numerous reasons. The most important one being that this was the first year out of four that the team went to the FCS National Championship. The game was against James Maddison Duke and ended with a score of 31-21.
2005 was less exciting as it followed a run to the FCS National Championship with a loss in the first round against Cal Poly. The final score was 34-21.
2006 and 2007 were both very similar years in the sense that the Griz was the number one seed in the Big Sky Conference but went out before the championship game both years. In 2006, they made it to the semi-finals, and in 2007, they went out in the first round.
2008 was when the Griz rose to be the same powerhouse that they were in 2004. They went back to the FCS National Championship but couldn’t gain any ground against Richmond, and ended with a final score of 24-7.
Despite the Championship loss, the Griz did have some major victories, with one of them being against the Cats in the Brawl of the Wild game. The Griz came out with their retro gold and copper uniforms, and ended the game with a final score of 35-3. This was also the start of the Griz’s four year reign over the Cats.
2009 was the year when the Griz kept their momentum from the previous year. They went back to the Championship game and lost against Villanova with a final score of 23-21, their closest score in the championship yet.
The real victory of the season was not getting to the championship but was in the first playoff round where they were down at halftime by 20 against South Dakota State. The Griz had a major comeback and finished the game with a score of 61-48.
2018-2025
From the years 2018-2020, the Griz didn’t truly do anything spectacular, and they could be considered some of Hauck’s worst years. The highest they got in the Big Sky Conference was 3rd.
2021 was when things started to turn around. The team had what Hauck considers the program’s biggest win, which was against the Washington Huskies. The Huskies were ranked number 20 in a preseason poll, but that didn’t matter as the Griz beat them 13-7.
2023 was all about junior Bergen who was one of the main reasons the Griz had their first semifinal win since 2009. The game was against Furmen and went into overtime. The final score was 35-28.
The Griz did go to the championship again that year, and it would be the last time Hauck advanced to the championship. They went up against South Dakota State and lost with a final score of 23-3.
The 2024-2025 season was very similar, but they were both underwhelming compared to the previous years. In 2024, the Griz made it to the second round of play-offs, and in 2025, it felt as though the Griz could go all the way again, but they lost in the semifinals to the for the second time that year.
Looking back on Hauck’s 15 years with the Griz, fans will be sad as they see him leaving a team that has so much momentum right now, momentum that he helped to create.
In the future, all eyes will be on Bobby Kendey to see if he can fill the shoes that are being left behind, but it’s safe to say that Griz football will not be the same without Hauck.
