C-S graduate who coached at Wheaton College, Indiana Wesleyan University, Iowa State University now a sales representative for Stryker in Ohio.
By Bruce Rolfe
Climax-Scotts High School graduate Jordan Langs is a family man first.
After spending the last 12 years coaching college football, including seven years as a head coach, Langs is stepping away from college football as a coach so he will have the opportunity to spend more time with his family.
Langs, who spent five seasons as an assistant coach at Wheaton College and seven years as Indiana Wesleyan University’s head football coach, climbed the coaching ladder late in 2022 when he was named as a Special Teams Coordinator and Running Backs coach at Iowa State University, a division 1 college football program.
However the C-S graduate has decided to make a shift in careers and is now working for Stryker as a sales representative in Ohio.
Langs, a 2008 C-S graduate, emphasized he was considering a change even before he secured his job at Iowa State University. He said an accumulation of many hours he committed to his job, starting when he was 23 years old as a first year coach at Wheaton College, left him wondering if he wanted to continue, especially after he and his wife Lindsey started their family. Langs and his wife Lindsey now have four children. He said on average, his job required 100 to 105 hours a week over his 12 years as a college football coach.
“Doing that with a family and raising my kids. Honestly, at Iowa State, it didn’t have much to do with the hours, but it’s spending six, seven years as a head coach and putting in those hours with that amount of pressure. I didn’t mind the pressure. I don’t mind the competition. It’s an all encompassing type of investment. It takes your whole family to do it. So really it was those six years there of being a head coach is probably where it all collected and probably is what started to kind of move my gears in thinking of what’s best for my family going forward,” explained Langs, who helped guide Iowa State University to a 7-6 overall record and 6-3 ledger in the Big 12 in 2023.
A goal oriented man, Langs admits he had dreams of coaching at a higher level, however after years of experiencing an intense workload and the amount of time being away from his family, he started to consider a change. The C-S graduate said he actually started thinking hard a few years ago while he was still the Indiana Wesleyan University head coach about stepping away because of the time commitment and time away from his family.
“I got to that level. I love being a head coach. That’s what drove me. I got to that level and probably thought that I could do it and saw that I had the skill set, the DNA to be a successful head coach in the Power 5 level. I think the reality sort of struck. Was I willing to sacrifice what was needed to get there? When you’re that close to it, you’re close to it, but you also realize what’s it’s going to take to get there. My dream was to be a power 5 head football coach and I thought I could do it, but I’ve got seven summers left with my oldest son (before he graduates from high school) and I wasn’t willing to sacrifice that time left to try to reach what I thought was my goal,” explained Langs.
His new journey connected him with Stryker.
Stryker recently started a new emergency care division that focuses on law enforcement.
The C-S graduate currently is a sales representative covering Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia, selling emergency care equipment like Automated External Defibrillators, Automated CPR devices, and automated rescue stair chairs to law enforcement agencies.
He said there are only 16 representatives across the country selling the Kalamazoo based company’s emergency care devices to law enforcement agencies.
“It’s a little bit new for Stryker but an exciting thing to be a part of. A great company and especially since it’s a company I grew up right by,” said Langs, who said his family currently resides in Columbus, Ohio.
“It was time to make a pivot, professionally. I’ve got four kids. My oldest is 11 years old, my youngest is 6. I have worked hard and sacrificed a lot in my football career, which is what it takes to get to that level. I think the realization that I wanted to do something that would allow me to invest more time in my family. I still want to do something I’m good at. I want to be competitive. I like to work. It’s just that the amount of hours that it took away from my family. It just felt like it was time to do something that focused on them more. Football’s all I’ve ever known. I think there was a level of security there knowing I was going to do something I’d like to do and I’ve seen demonstrated before. It was time for me to kind of take a step of faith and do something that’s way outside anything that’s been done around me my whole life and try something new. And hopefully, it benefits my family for it,” continued Langs, who said he will miss the camaraderie with the coaches and players.
The C-S graduate said he patterned his work ethic after watching his father, current C-S assistant football coach and teacher and former longtime Hall of Fame varsity football coach Kevin Langs, put in long hours and make sacrifices at C-S, Spring Lake, Reading and Battle Creek St. Phil during his stints as a football coach and teacher.
“All I knew was to put in a lot of hard work and a lot of effort. I’ve got no regrets about that to a degree professionally. But from a family perspective, it was just time to make a change,” said Langs.
“I always knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to be the best. I knew it took a lot of work. All I knew was to do whatever it took day in and day out, to try and be good at what you did,” continued the former college football coach.
A four-year letter winner as a defensive back and linebacker for Wheaton College, Langs went on to spend five seasons (2012-2016) coaching at his alma mater, a NCAA Division III college. He was Defensive Coordinator in 2014 and 2015 after serving as the defensive backs coach his first two seasons on the staff.
Langs was named the Indiana Wesleyan University football program’s inaugural head coach in 2016, and quickly developed the Wildcat football team into one of the best in the country in their five seasons of competition.
During his time at IWU, Langs led the Wildcats to 33 wins, compiling an overall record of 33-15 (.688), while posting a record of 16-9 in Mid-States Football Association Mideast play. He was also named MSFA Mideast Coach of the Year in 2021 and 2022. Langs guided IWU to its highest level of success on the field in 2022, after winning the program’s first MSFA Conference Championship with an undefeated 7-0 conference record. The Wildcats’ two postseason victories earned them a birth into the semifinal round of the NAIA football championship series. The team also enjoyed a national ranking of No. 5 in the NAIA Coaches Top 25 poll from Oct. 10 through the end of the season.
Langs said there were some adjustments going from a smaller college to a division 1 university like Iowa State. Indiana Wesleyan University, a private Evangelical Christian university with an enrollment in the fall of 2019 of 13,285 plays in the NAIA, while Iowa State lists its total enrollment in the fall of 2022 school year at 29,969. Even for a veteran coach like Langs, the jump to a division 1 university meant for some adjustments.
“The thing that’s really different is the amount of resources and support you have at the Power 5 level. There’s just so many people and so much money and so many different tools to be used. At Indiana Wesleyan and Wheaton, it was so much on you. Each individual had to be responsible for a lot to make things run. When you get to that (higher) level it’s still the same. The kids are the same, you coach the same, you teach the same. The same things make you good, the same things make you bad. It’s just that the difference is the spot light is a little bit brighter, the stage is a little bigger and there’s more resources available at that level,” explained Langs.
Langs feels social media and conventional media brings more exposure to the student-athlete at a bigger university like Iowa State, but he found overall, the student-athlete is the same. “It’s the same type of kid who requires that same type of love and the same type of care. And you teach them all different just like you did at any other level. I enjoyed that the most, is getting to know those guys and connecting with them and just realizing it doesn’t matter what level you’re at, they’re all the same type of kids,” offered Langs.
While his new job requires a lot of work and some travel that keeps him away from his family some, Langs said the 60 hours he could put into a challenging week pales compared to the 100 hours a week that was required when he was a college football coach.
They say once a coach, always a coach, but for now he’s focusing on his new career and giving everything he has to be successful.
“Never say never. You never know how the Lord works. If college football is back in my future, we’ll take it as it comes. But coaching isn’t done for sure. Obviously, I want to be involved with my children and I want to be involved in it where I can,” said Langs, who said he has friends who are now college coaches he enjoys consulting with and offering support at times.
“Right now I’m focused on trying to coach my kids and then whatever the Lord leads, we’ll follow if that comes down the road,” adds Langs.
Climax-Scotts High School graduate Jordan Langs is a family man first.
After spending the last 12 years coaching college football, including seven years as a head coach, Langs is stepping away from college football as a coach so he will have the opportunity to spend more time with his family.
Langs, who spent five seasons as an assistant coach at Wheaton College and seven years as Indiana Wesleyan University’s head football coach, climbed the coaching ladder late in 2022 when he was named as a Special Teams Coordinator and Running Backs coach at Iowa State University, a division 1 college football program.
However the C-S graduate has decided to make a shift in careers and is now working for Stryker as a sales representative in Ohio.
Langs, a 2008 C-S graduate, emphasized he was considering a change even before he secured his job at Iowa State University. He said an accumulation of many hours he committed to his job, starting when he was 23 years old as a first year coach at Wheaton College, left him wondering if he wanted to continue, especially after he and his wife Lindsey started their family. Langs and his wife Lindsey now have four children. He said on average, his job required 100 to 105 hours a week over his 12 years as a college football coach.
“Doing that with a family and raising my kids. Honestly, at Iowa State, it didn’t have much to do with the hours, but it’s spending six, seven years as a head coach and putting in those hours with that amount of pressure. I didn’t mind the pressure. I don’t mind the competition. It’s an all encompassing type of investment. It takes your whole family to do it. So really it was those six years there of being a head coach is probably where it all collected and probably is what started to kind of move my gears in thinking of what’s best for my family going forward,” explained Langs, who helped guide Iowa State University to a 7-6 overall record and 6-3 ledger in the Big 12 in 2023.
A goal oriented man, Langs admits he had dreams of coaching at a higher level, however after years of experiencing an intense workload and the amount of time being away from his family, he started to consider a change. The C-S graduate said he actually started thinking hard a few years ago while he was still the Indiana Wesleyan University head coach about stepping away because of the time commitment and time away from his family.
“I got to that level. I love being a head coach. That’s what drove me. I got to that level and probably thought that I could do it and saw that I had the skill set, the DNA to be a successful head coach in the Power 5 level. I think the reality sort of struck. Was I willing to sacrifice what was needed to get there? When you’re that close to it, you’re close to it, but you also realize what’s it’s going to take to get there. My dream was to be a power 5 head football coach and I thought I could do it, but I’ve got seven summers left with my oldest son (before he graduates from high school) and I wasn’t willing to sacrifice that time left to try to reach what I thought was my goal,” explained Langs.
His new journey connected him with Stryker.
Stryker recently started a new emergency care division that focuses on law enforcement.
The C-S graduate currently is a sales representative covering Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia, selling emergency care equipment like Automated External Defibrillators, Automated CPR devices, and automated rescue stair chairs to law enforcement agencies.
He said there are only 16 representatives across the country selling the Kalamazoo based company’s emergency care devices to law enforcement agencies.
“It’s a little bit new for Stryker but an exciting thing to be a part of. A great company and especially since it’s a company I grew up right by,” said Langs, who said his family currently resides in Columbus, Ohio.
“It was time to make a pivot, professionally. I’ve got four kids. My oldest is 11 years old, my youngest is 6. I have worked hard and sacrificed a lot in my football career, which is what it takes to get to that level. I think the realization that I wanted to do something that would allow me to invest more time in my family. I still want to do something I’m good at. I want to be competitive. I like to work. It’s just that the amount of hours that it took away from my family. It just felt like it was time to do something that focused on them more. Football’s all I’ve ever known. I think there was a level of security there knowing I was going to do something I’d like to do and I’ve seen demonstrated before. It was time for me to kind of take a step of faith and do something that’s way outside anything that’s been done around me my whole life and try something new. And hopefully, it benefits my family for it,” continued Langs, who said he will miss the camaraderie with the coaches and players.
The C-S graduate said he patterned his work ethic after watching his father, current C-S assistant football coach and teacher and former longtime Hall of Fame varsity football coach Kevin Langs, put in long hours and make sacrifices at C-S, Spring Lake, Reading and Battle Creek St. Phil during his stints as a football coach and teacher.
“All I knew was to put in a lot of hard work and a lot of effort. I’ve got no regrets about that to a degree professionally. But from a family perspective, it was just time to make a change,” said Langs.
“I always knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to be the best. I knew it took a lot of work. All I knew was to do whatever it took day in and day out, to try and be good at what you did,” continued the former college football coach.
A four-year letter winner as a defensive back and linebacker for Wheaton College, Langs went on to spend five seasons (2012-2016) coaching at his alma mater, a NCAA Division III college. He was Defensive Coordinator in 2014 and 2015 after serving as the defensive backs coach his first two seasons on the staff.
Langs was named the Indiana Wesleyan University football program’s inaugural head coach in 2016, and quickly developed the Wildcat football team into one of the best in the country in their five seasons of competition.
During his time at IWU, Langs led the Wildcats to 33 wins, compiling an overall record of 33-15 (.688), while posting a record of 16-9 in Mid-States Football Association Mideast play. He was also named MSFA Mideast Coach of the Year in 2021 and 2022. Langs guided IWU to its highest level of success on the field in 2022, after winning the program’s first MSFA Conference Championship with an undefeated 7-0 conference record. The Wildcats’ two postseason victories earned them a birth into the semifinal round of the NAIA football championship series. The team also enjoyed a national ranking of No. 5 in the NAIA Coaches Top 25 poll from Oct. 10 through the end of the season.
Langs said there were some adjustments going from a smaller college to a division 1 university like Iowa State. Indiana Wesleyan University, a private Evangelical Christian university with an enrollment in the fall of 2019 of 13,285 plays in the NAIA, while Iowa State lists its total enrollment in the fall of 2022 school year at 29,969. Even for a veteran coach like Langs, the jump to a division 1 university meant for some adjustments.
“The thing that’s really different is the amount of resources and support you have at the Power 5 level. There’s just so many people and so much money and so many different tools to be used. At Indiana Wesleyan and Wheaton, it was so much on you. Each individual had to be responsible for a lot to make things run. When you get to that (higher) level it’s still the same. The kids are the same, you coach the same, you teach the same. The same things make you good, the same things make you bad. It’s just that the difference is the spot light is a little bit brighter, the stage is a little bigger and there’s more resources available at that level,” explained Langs.
Langs feels social media and conventional media brings more exposure to the student-athlete at a bigger university like Iowa State, but he found overall, the student-athlete is the same. “It’s the same type of kid who requires that same type of love and the same type of care. And you teach them all different just like you did at any other level. I enjoyed that the most, is getting to know those guys and connecting with them and just realizing it doesn’t matter what level you’re at, they’re all the same type of kids,” offered Langs.
While his new job requires a lot of work and some travel that keeps him away from his family some, Langs said the 60 hours he could put into a challenging week pales compared to the 100 hours a week that was required when he was a college football coach.
They say once a coach, always a coach, but for now he’s focusing on his new career and giving everything he has to be successful.
“Never say never. You never know how the Lord works. If college football is back in my future, we’ll take it as it comes. But coaching isn’t done for sure. Obviously, I want to be involved with my children and I want to be involved in it where I can,” said Langs, who said he has friends who are now college coaches he enjoys consulting with and offering support at times.
“Right now I’m focused on trying to coach my kids and then whatever the Lord leads, we’ll follow if that comes down the road,” adds Langs.
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