The Green Bay Packers have announced that David Esswein of Kiel High School in Kiel, Wis., has been named the Packers High School Coach of the Week.
In his fifth season as head coach of the Raiders, Esswein has led his program to a perfect 11-0 record heading into Level 3 of the WIAA State Football Playoffs. As Kiel looks to make a run at an undefeated state championship season, the program will lean on what has brought them to this point: their strong culture, hard work and discipline.
"[Our culture] is built on effort and hard work," said Esswein. "We really stress all the details and coach the details every single day. We hold the kids accountable to always do their best. It doesn't matter if it's training sessions, practice, games or school; we are always on them to do their best in football and in life. We build a hardworking environment. We create a team environment and stress the idea of not just working hard yourself but leading your teammates to work hard. All that hard work and attitude that we establish carries over to the success on Friday nights."
Esswein has also made giving back to the youth of the Kiel community a priority for his program.
"We do a lot with our youth program," he said. "Our players are involved with youth practice and volunteering within the youth program. Just giving back to the future of Kiel Raider football is a big deal to our program and providing positive role models. Those kids view the high school football players as NFL superstars, and it means so much to have our guys there to help and give back."
Esswein grew up in Kiel and graduated from Kiel High School in 2012. He played wide receiver and defensive back for the Raiders under head coach Chris Bennin. Esswein went on to play wide receiver for the Upper Iowa University Peacocks. After graduating in 2017, he began coaching as an assistant for Kiel from 2017-19. Esswein accepted his alma mater's head coaching position in 2020.
"I never expected to be a coach," Esswein said. "But it is truly my passion."
Esswein is honored to win the Coach of the Week award but recognizes it's a culmination of many peoples' hard work.
"It means a lot and is quite an honor," he said. "It's special to receive this because of all the people in Kiel and around our football program that work tirelessly to provide the best experience for our student athletes. Our coaching staff is incredible and they've been a huge part in helping to move this program forward. This is truly a cohesive effort. Our culture at Kiel is fantastic and it's our school, administration and community; everybody has played a hand in our success."
Esswein and his staff oversee a program of 49 players with about 40 of them suiting up for varsity games. His assistants include Robb Landwehr, Shawn Hills, Cade Friday, Jay Binversie, Jamie Vandermeuse, Jon Braun and Nick Reschke. In addition to coaching, Esswein owns and operates Elevate Fitness, a fitness center in Pulaski, Wis.
About the Green Bay Packers High School Coach of the Week Program:
The Packers will recognize one outstanding high school coach as their 'Coach of the Week' winner during the 2024 high school football season. Winners are awarded several items and privileges, including a $1,000 donation to the school's football program from the Green Bay Packers and the NFL Foundation, as well as recognition of the award on packers.com, wissports.net and wifca.org.
Nominations for Coach of the Week should be submitted by 10 a.m. every Monday to Jake Krueger, Football Outreach Coordinator, at coachoftheweek@packers.com. Please include the nominee's name, address, school, phone number and reason he/she is deserving of the award.
