Ryan Brady will become the first Saginaw County native to lead the Saginaw Valley State University football program, becoming the seventh head coach in SVSU football history.

SVSU announced Thursday that the former Chesaning High School and Grand Valley State quarterback will take over as the head football coach. He replaces Jim Collins, who left after 11 years to become an assistant coach at Army.

Brady has served on the Ferris State coaching staff since 2012, helping the Bulldogs earn three Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships and five consecutive NCAA Division II playoff berths. In the past three years, the Bulldogs have reached the quarterfinals three times, semifinals twice and national championship game once.

Since Brady joined the Ferris staff, the Bulldogs are 75-15. He joined the staff as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, then served as the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach last season.

Brady is accustomed to winning championships. He led Chesaning High School to the 1998 Class B state championship with a 41-38 victory over Belding. In the title game, Brady ran 18 times for 126 yards and two touchdowns and completed 7 of 11 passes for 168 yards and three touchdowns.

He played collegiately at Grand Valley State, leading the Lakers to the national title game in 2001 and winning a national title in 2002.

Former Ferris State assistant Ryan Brady will become the seventh head football coach at SVSU in 2019.

“My wife Jessica, daughter Isabelle and I feel blessed to come home to Saginaw and reconnect with family, friends and the community,” Brady said in a press release. “I cannot express how excited and honored I am to be the head football coach of Saginaw Valley State University.”

Before coaching at Ferris, Brady was the offensive coordinator at Grand Rapids Community College, the quarterbacks coach at Grand Valley State, the strength and conditioning coach at Muskegon High School, the freshman coach at Chesaning and the offensive coordinator, quarterback coach at Montrose High School and head coach at Perry High School.

With Ryan Brady's hire today at SVSU, there are now three former @FerrisFootball assistants under @CoachAnnese currently serving as head coaches and leading their own GLIAC programs! pic.twitter.com/aelP1dvNDS — Ferris Athletics (@ferrisathletics) March 21, 2019

“Ryan brings the entire package in terms of what we were seeking for a head coach to lead our program,” SVSU athletic director John Decker said. “Coach Brady emerged as our clear choice at the end of a highly competitive selection process, in which we had several strong candidates, so we are extremely pleased.”

He graduated from Grand Valley State with a bachelor’s degree then earned a master’s degree at Saginaw Valley State.