Coach Jim Purtill has served as the Offensive Coordinator and OL Coach for the Walsh Cavaliers since 2023. He has the recruiting areas of Ashtabula, Columbiana, Mahoning, Portage, and Trumbull Counties.
Coach Purtill is a football coaching veteran who has experienced a wide range of experience at all levels of the collegiate game. The majority of his career has been spent in the Midwestern and Eastern parts of the country. He has had the good fortune to learn his craft from some of the most outstanding football coaches in the country. Names such as Don James, Lavell Edwards, Maxie Baughan, Bo Schembechler, Joe Paterno, and Gary Pinkel have either had a direct or indirect influence on his coaching philosophy.
Purtill has head coaching and offensive coordinator experience. He served as head coach at Salem College and St. Norbert College. He is the winningest coach in St. Norbert College history, going 130-30. In 2016, he ranked #50 on the list of winningest coaches in college football history (DI,DII, and DIII). As of recent, he served as offensive coordinator at Wesley College, in Dover, DE and Davenport University, in Grand Rapids, MI. He also was the QB and Pass Game Coordinator at UW Oshkosh, where he coached in the 2016 DIII National Championship game. Over a 21 year span, his offensive units averaged 36 points per game and he has had eight Conference Offensive Player of the Year selections.
Coach Purtill says, "It is my belief that the ideal college environment is one in which a strong academic curriculum is demanded and is balanced by a highly competitive and rewarding athletic experience. The team - the team - the team! Within the team concept, the players come first. Excellence is the common goal!"
Purtill was born and raised in Ohio. He is a graduate of Miami University, Ohio has a degree in education. He received his Master's Degree from Salem College in West Virginia.
