Russell McCarvel enters his 8th season with the Blue Hawks in 2025, and his 6th as Offensive Coordinator. Under his leadership, Dickinson State has led the conference in both scoring and total offense for five consecutive seasons, highlighted by a school-record 39.4 points per game in 2021. The Blue Hawks have posted back-to-back 10-win seasons and earned first-round playoff victories in each of the past two years. Following the 2022 season, McCarvel was named the North Star Athletic Association Assistant Coach of the Year.
McCarvel began his collegiate coaching career at Carroll College, serving as running backs coach during the Saints’ 2005 NAIA National Championship season — the program’s fourth consecutive national title and a perfect 14-0 campaign. Now entering his 39th year of coaching, McCarvel brings extensive experience as an Offensive Coordinator, Defensive Coordinator, and Passing Game Coordinator.
Prior to Dickinson State, he served as Offensive Coordinator at Helena Capital High School (MT), helping guide the Bruins to three straight Class AA semifinal appearances. From 2007 to 2013, he was the Head Coach at Flathead High School (MT), where he led the Braves to three playoff berths and coached future NFL quarterback Brock Osweiler. Earlier in his career, he spent five seasons as Head Coach at Dawson County High School (MT) and also held coaching positions at Laurel, Glasgow, and Malta High Schools.
A Montana native, McCarvel graduated from Montana State University with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and later earned a master’s degree from Lesley University in 2001.
He and his wife, Jacki, live in Dickinson, North Dakota, where she is an RN at CHI St. Alexis. They have two sons: Robert, a West Point graduate and U.S. Army Captain currently serving as a Company Commander at Fort Hood, Texas; and Conor, a former Blue Hawk wide receiver and team captain who now works for the Fiesta Bowl. Conor and his wife Allie, also a Dickinson State University graduate, live in Phoenix, Arizona.
