Dwain Painter won't rank one memory over another in a football coaching career that enters its 45th year on the high school, collegiate and professional level as he joins Jerry Schmitt's staff at Duquesne University.

An assistant on Pittsburgh Steelers coach Chuck Noll's staff from 1988-91, Painter aims to create more memories on The Bluff.

A Monroeville native who now lives in Allison Park with his wife, Catherine, Painter, 68, has joined the Dukes as an offensive assistant coach. Duquesne's team began fall drills Sunday.

"I'll be working on pregame scouting and coordinate some offensive ideas designed to attack the other team's defense," said Painter, who spent the previous three seasons at California University of Pennsylvania, with the last two as the Vulcans' quality control coach.

"As a staff, we're very optimistic," he said. "We had some games last year where we lost them in the fourth quarter, and we hope we've improved as a football team."

The veteran coach's style was honed on the football fields of Western Pennsylvania. He was a stellar quarterback at Gateway High in the late 1950s before advancing to Rutgers, graduating in 1964.

"Your coaching style doesn't change whether you are coaching high school, college or professional athletes," he said. "You treat them the same way you would treat your son.

"Over the years, professional athletes have attained some [fame], but they have to realize the success is derived because of the people around them. Football is the greatest team sport because no one can succeed doing everything by himself."

Painter retired briefly from coaching in 2005 after a four-year stint as an assistant with the Frankfurt Galaxy of the now-defunct NFL Europe. Then he answered head coach John Luckhardt's request for help at California.

"There was a tremendous surge in success with the program, and we had great support from the administration," Painter said. "It was a lot of fun."

He again returned to the sideline when Duquesne's Jerry Schmitt extended an offer.

"I felt an immediate connection with Coach Schmitt, and I decided to go for one more year and see what happens," Painter said. "I'll evaluate [continuing] after this season as I've been coaching since 1965. It is a passion, and you don't stay with coaching unless you love it.

"There is a tendency to focus on wins and losses, but that's not always an indication of what you've done [as a coach]."

In a diverse college career, Painter was an assistant coach at San Jose State (1971), the College of San Mateo (1973), Brigham Young (1974-75), UCLA 1976-78), Georgia Tech (1982-85), Texas (1986) and Illinois (1987). He served as head coach at Northern Arizona from 1979 to 1981.

After his three seasons with the Steelers, he helped coach the Indianapolis Colts (1992-93), San Diego Chargers (1994-96), Denver Broncos (1997), Dallas Cowboys (1998-99) and the Galaxy.

He twice coached in the Super Bowl. He was with the Chargers in 1994 when they fell to the San Francisco 49ers, 49-26, in Super Bowl XXIX, and he earned a ring in 1997 when the Broncos defeated the Green Bay Packers, 31-24, in Super Bowl XXXII.

One of his favorite memories in a long career is the Colts' turnaround in 1992 as Indianapolis improved from a dismal 1-15 in the previous season to 9-7.

"It was the biggest turnaround in NFL history," Painter said. "A lot of factors went into that turnaround, but you have to remember that some things are in your control and some aren't."

Another highlight for Painter was working with Brigham Young's legendary LaVell Edwards.

"I was with him when BYU played in its first Fiesta Bowl [in 1974]," Painter said of the coach.

Northeast Conference coaches have selected Duquesne to finish seventh in the nine-team league after last season's 3-8 record. He's not concerned about opinions.

"Polls are for the fans and for the pollsters," he said. "I don't think they mean a lot, but we have improved our football team along the way. We hope to surprise some people."

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