Bio

Michael Salerno starts his first season as the Special Teams Coordinator, Wide
Receivers Coach, and Pass Game Coordinator, for the Wildcats in 2025.
Salerno comes to Bethel after spending the past two seasons at Illinois College, where
he started his coaching career.
During his time at Illinois College, Salerno was a part of the top-ranked passing offense
(384 yards/game), top-ranked total offense (589 yards/game), and top-ranked scoring
offense (55.5 points/game) in Division III. He helped guide Illinois College to the
program’s first conference championship in school history, as well as a playoff berth. He
also coached two-time All-American wide receiver Collin Brunstein who broke the NCAA
records for single-season receiving yards (2200), single-season receiving touchdowns
(31), and career receiving touchdowns (77), along with multiple other national and
conference accolades. 
As Special Teams Coordinator at Illinois College for the 2024 season, the Blueboys
were #4 in the country in blocked punts (4), #4 in kick returns for touchdowns (2), #9 in
blocked kicks (6), and #29 in kickoff return average (23.5 yards/return).
Originally from Valencia, California, Salerno graduated from Southern Methodist
University in Dallas with a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Sports Management. 
Salerno walked on as a safety and kicker for the Mustangs in the fall of 2017 and
eventually earned a scholarship in the fall of 2019. While playing for SMU, Salerno
earned American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team honors for the 2018, 2019,
and 2020 seasons.