Mike Gardner (American football)

Michael Norman Gardner (born March 9, 1967) is currently the coach at Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas. Having left Tabor for Malone in 2006, Gardner was chosen to replace Mike Gottsch after Tabor's winless 2009 season. Gardner's teams achieved post-season play for his first five years as a head coach at the college level—the first two years qualifying for the NAIA playoffs and the next three years to the Victory Bowl.

Coaching history

Assistant coaching

Gardner began in coaching as Special Teams and Recruiting Coordinator at Hastings College from 1990 to 1993. He later held assistant coaching positions at Bethel College (Kansas), Lindenwood University, and Tabor College.

Tabor

In 2004, he became the head coach at Tabor College and held that position until 2006. During his time at Tabor his teams won two conference championships and advanced to the national playoffs.

Malone

Gardner was named head coach at Malone College following the 2006 season. His team at Malone began the 2008 season ranked #24 in the NAIA pre-season poll. Following the lackluster 4-6 2009 season at Malone, Gardner resigned to clear the way for his return to Tabor. He stated “I wasn’t looking for an opportunity to go by any means,” Gardner said. “This just presented itself."