Alma Mater: Alfred University '16 B.A., '19 M.S.
Hometown/High School: Lock Haven, PA / Central Mountain
Record at Utica: 0-0, first season in 2026
 
YEAR-BY-YEAR at Utica University:
 
Career Roadmap:
Utica University | 2026 - Present (Defensive Coordinator)
Buffalo State University | 2022-2026 (Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach)
Alfred University | 2020-2022 (Special Teams Coordinator/Defensive Backs Coach, JV Coach)
Alfred University | 2019-2020 (Special Teams Coordinator/D-Line Coach)
Alfred University | 2016-2019 (Graduate Assistant - Linebackers & D-Line)
 
UTICA, NY - After a stellar 25th Anniversary campaign in 2025, the Pioneers are gearing up for another strong season in 2026. In anticipation of this exciting season, Utica football has welcomed a new Defensive Coordinator, Holden Whitehead, in addition to promoting another crucial part of the coaching staff, Braeden Zenelovic, to the position of Offensive Coordinator.
 
About Coach Whitehead: Holden Whitehead was named Utica Football's next Defensive Coordinator in the spring of 2026, following the departure of Coach Jamey McClendon. Whitehead made the move east from Buffalo State, where he served as the Bengals' Defensive Coordinator for four full seasons. Whitehead will take over a strong orange and blue defensive unit that set numerous school records, especially in pass defense. With Coach Whitehead's background in coaching the defensive backs and linebacker corps, the Pioneer defense is as poised as ever to make a national footprint, and he personally hopes to help develop a defense that the community can be proud of both on and off the field. Coach Whitehead, along with his wife Kassie and dog Henry, is excited to join the Utica family ahead of this upcoming season.
 
Under former Pioneer Assistant Coach Lazarus Morgan at Buffalo State, Whitehead helped improve the Bengals' program both on and off the field, leading to increased win totals in each of his first three seasons and producing the Liberty League's top passing defense during the 2025 season. In his four seasons, the Western New York team decreased its points per game allowed by 18 points, decreased its rushing yards allowed per game by 67, and decreased its total yards allowed per game by 75. Whitehead also helped the Bengals in the classroom, as the team achieved a significant increase in team GPA, thanks to the program's increased oversight of academic skill development in players during Whitehead's tenure.
 
Prior to taking the job at Buffalo State, Whitehead spent many years at Empire 8 representative Alfred University, manning the sidelines as both a player and a coach for 10 years. Whitehead would begin his career as a Saxon during his four years playing for the team from 2012-2016. Upon graduation, Whitehead would remain on the staff as a graduate assistant, rising in the coaching ranks while also pursuing his master's of education. Directly before taking the Defensive Coordinator position at Buffalo State, Whitehead would spend three seasons as the program's Special Teams Coordinator, also taking up roles as the Defensive Backs Coach and JV Coach during his final two seasons at Alfred, and spending one year coaching the D-Line during his first season as Special Teams Coordinator.
 
In 2021, his final season with the Saxons, Whitehead helped develop an All-Conference Kicker, as the team would go on to have a perfect PAT percentage, rank 13th nationally in blocked punts with three, and finish second in the conference for both opposing 3rd-down conversions (25.9%) and passing touchdowns allowed (6). In 2019, Whitehead had a solid first season with major defensive responsibilities, coaching an Empire 8 Conference Player of the Year in addition to ranking high nationally in a variety of different categories, including opposing points per game (17.9 - 39th), opposing yards per game (264 - 15th), and opposing yards per rush (2.6 - 13th).
 
Prior to his position as special teams coordinator, Whitehead was a coach on the amazing 2016 Alfred University football team that went 12-1 and advanced all the way to the NCAA Division III Quarterfinal. During that campaign, Whitehead served as a coach for the linebackers and defensive line, helping the team go undefeated in the regular season to become Empire 8 Champions, take home the conference's Coaching Staff of the Year award, and win the Lambert Cup, an award given to the best Division III Football team in the East. In that 2016 season, Alfred found success thanks to a suffocating defense, headlined by the Saxons' stellar unit that led the Empire 8 in points per game allowed, total yardage allowed, rushing yards per game allowed, 3rd-down defense, and sacks. During the 2016 and 2017 seasons, Whitehead helped coach two conference players of the year, a regional player of the year, two AFCA All-Americans, and 15 all-conference talents.
 
In total, during his coaching career, Whitehead has helped mentor 40 all-conference athletes and four All-Americans.
 
Prior to taking his first coaching role as a graduate assistant with the Saxons, Whitehead had a stellar four-year career with the team, capped off by a senior season that saw him rack up 78 total tackles, force one fumble, and recover one fumble. Whitehead was also named an Empire 8 Player of the Week during his senior campaign and was a three-year letter winner at Alfred University as a key member of the linebacker corps.
 
Whitehead, a native of Lock Haven, Pennsylvania,  joined the Saxons following a standout career at Central Mountain High School, where he was a two-time all-state linebacker.
 
Coach Zenelovic's Promotion: The Pioneers will also see a significant coaching shift on the offensive side of the ball, as last year's Pass Game Coordinator Braeden Zenelovic will take the reins on offense, ascending to be the team's Offensive Coordinator starting in the 2026 season.
 
Zenelovic makes this move after helping to create a Pioneer passing game that would break a bevy of program records through the air this past season, nearly all of which were held by Zenelovic from his spectacular senior season as the team's quarterback during the 2022 campaign. Under his tutelage, current quarterback Tyler Szalkowski (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute) became the Empire 8 Player of the Year, along with a Gagliardi Trophy Semifinalist. Szalkowski set single-season records in passing yards, completions, and passing touchdowns in 2025, pairing up with an array of strong skill players who were also the beneficiaries of Zenelovic's superior offensive schemes. The passing game boasted a trio of first-team All-Empire 8 performers in Antonio Cianfarani (Scotia, NY/Scotia Glenville), Bryce Palmer (Verona, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill), and Logan Frederick (Little Falls, NY/Little Falls), with Palmer also achieving an All-Region II selection and an All-ECAC selection, while Frederick, in addition to achieving both of those accolades, was also named a three-time All-American talent.
 
Zenelovic has been with the team ever since leading the team to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and victory in 2022. Following his graduation, he remained on the staff as an assistant coach, now being named the Offensive Coordinator headed into his fourth year on the coaching staff.
 
Keep an eye on our athletics social media and website for more information about the 2026 Utica Football season, and make sure to follow the team's Instagram page at: https://www.instagram.com/uticafootball/