ANNAPOLIS, Md.—Navy head football coach Brian Newberry announced Wednesday that Drew Cronic has joined the Navy football staff as offensive coordinator.  Cronic comes to Navy from Mercer, where he put together a 28-17 (.622) record over the last four years, including a 22-10 (.688) mark in the rugged Southern Conference.
 
"I couldn't be more excited to welcome Drew and his family to Navy," said Newberry.  "Coach Cronic is an outstanding person and one of the most well respected, creative and innovative coaches in the business.  He's had great success as an offensive coordinator and as a head coach everywhere he's been. He cares deeply about his players and has had a significant impact on the lives of the young men he's coached. I am thrilled to have him on our staff and to lead our offensive unit."
 
"It's an honor and a privilege to join Coach Newberry's staff at the premier Service Academy in the country," said Cronic. "My family and I are excited about the opportunity to work with the future leaders of our country and the great coaching staff that Coach Newberry has assembled. I am looking forward to the challenge of winning the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy and competing for the American Athletic Conference Championship."
 
A native of Sharpsburg, Georgia, Cronic is considered one of the more innovative offensive minds across all levels of college football. Driven by the motto "Raise the Bar," Cronic has been a head coach for a combined eight years at three different schools and has compiled a career record of 75-23 (.765) while also handling offensive coordinator duties that featured variations of the option offense.
 
Cronic led Mercer to an historic 9-4 record in 2023, including a 6-2 mark in the Southern Conference.  The nine wins are the most against Division I opponents in the 50-year history of the program, while the team earned an FCS playoff berth for the first time in school history.  The 6-2 conference mark tied Cronic's 2021 team for the most Southern Conference wins in school history.
 
The Bears defeated Gardner-Webb 17-7 in the first round of the FCS playoffs before falling to eventual National Champion South Dakota State in the second round. Mercer finished the year ranked No. 20 in the AFCA Coaches Poll, one of three Southern Conference teams that were ranked in the final poll.
 
In 2022, Mercer (7-4, 5-3 SoCon) reached its highest AFCA FCS Coaches Poll ranking in school history at No. 11 thanks to its most explosive and potent offense in program history, as the Bears averaged 38.2 points per game.
 
In 2021, Mercer finished 7-3 and 6-2 in the conference, losing to East Tennessee State 38-35 in the final regular-season game of the year that determined the Southern Conference champion. Mercer finished the season ranked No. 21 in the STATS Perform Poll while averaging 31.7 points per game.
 
Cronic's first season at Mercer was supposed to be in the fall of 2020, but was pushed to the spring of 2021 due to COVID. Cronic led the Bears to their best Southern Conference season since joining the conference with five league wins, including three over ranked foes. Cronic's squad defeated No. 9 Chattanooga (35-28), No. 17 Furman (26-14) and No. 20 East Tennessee State (21-13) over three-consecutive weeks.
 
Cronic engineered one of the most impressive turnarounds in college football at Lenoir-Rhyne, taking a team that went 3-8 the year before he got there to a 25-3 record over his two seasons at the helm (12-2 in 2018 and 13-1 in 2019).
 
Cronic was named the AFCA National Coach of the Year in 2018, as he led the Bears to the sixth-best turnaround in Division II history and past the first round of the Division II playoffs for just the second time in school history.
 
Cronic was the offensive coordinator at Furman in 2017, as his offense led the Paladins to the second round of the FCS playoffs, averaging 34 points per game.
 
Before his stint at Furman, Cronic coached at Reinhardt from 2012-16 and was instrumental in the startup of the program. For the first-three seasons, Cronic served as assistant head coach, offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator for the Eagles before being named the head coach prior to the 2015 campaign.
 
Cronic directed Reinhardt to a nine-win season in 2015 before a record-breaking year in 2016, as the Eagles went 13-1, won the Mid-South Conference Championship and advanced to the NAIA National Quarterfinals. Reinhardt averaged 51.1 points per contest and totaled 550.6 yards of offense per game, ranking first in the nation in both categories.
 
The Eagles led the nation in rushing offense (360.0 ypg) and rushing touchdowns (71), while having the nation's second-highest passing efficiency (178.0) to go along with 25 touchdown passes.
 
Cronic was twice named the Mid-South Conference West Division Coach of the Year and the AFCA NAIA Region I Coach of the Year.
 
Cronic's first stint at Furman lasted nine years (2002-10) as he served in several coaching roles including wide receivers, running backs, tight ends and recruiting coordinator. During his time there, the Paladins won a Southern Conference title in 2004 and put together an 11-3 season in 2005, which ended with a trip to the national semifinals.
 
In 1999, Cronic began his coaching career after graduate school at James Madison where he served three seasons as receivers coach and assistant recruiting coordinator.  The Dukes won the Atlantic 10 Championship in his first year and earned a bid to the FCS Playoffs.
 
Cronic played quarterback for his father, Danny Cronic, at East Coweta High School before playing collegiately at Georgia. As a Bulldog, Cronic played wide receiver and was a member of the special teams, lettering twice and participating in the 1995 Peach Bowl and 1997 Outback Bowl.
 
Cronic received his bachelor's degree in mathematics education from the University of Georgia in 1998 before earning his master's degree in educational leadership in 1999 from the University of West Georgia.
 
Cronic and his wife, Amelia, have three sons, Noah, Elijah and Isaiah.