Having a blank canvass at his disposal, Nathan Robbins is sincere and motivated to build the football program of his dreams on the small campus of Concordia University-Ann Arbor. Simply put, Robbins - the first head coach in the history of Cardinal football - has as his goal to make the Concordia program one of the top NAIA programs in the nation and a well-respected program in the state of Michigan.

"Michigan has strong collegiate football, but we will be the only NAIA program and I want to take full advantage of that and build a well-respected program that will draw interest from players that can play at all levels," Robbins said. "I'm a big dreamer and I believe you set your foundation with the idea of how far you want your program to go, rather than settling smaller initially and trying to change it later."

The foundation Robbins hopes to establish in Ann Arbor is one built on a strong emphasis on Christian character where each individual - player or coach - feel accountable to the team. Robbins has a goal to build a championship structure that focuses on developing the man on the football field as well as in the classroom but not just any player need apply.

"The players must have self-discipline and understand that they are accountable to not only themselves, but to their teammates and the coaching staff," Robbins said. "NAIA football is an opportunity for men who didn't receive that Division I scholarship the chance to earn a degree, compete at a high level of football and be part of something larger then themselves."

Robbins, who is currently focusing on adding two full-time members to his coaching staff as well as beginning to follow-up on the piles of names of players who have already expressed interest, doesn't feel beholden to any one particular system on offense nor defense.

"My philosophy is that you recruit to your system, but you must adjust your system to your talent," Robbins said. With no current or returning players to speak off, Robbins will now be on the lookout for the talent that will allow him to hopefully run a successful spread offense or an attacking defense.

Robbins has experience in adjusting his schemes based on the level of competition and the talent at his disposal. While serving as the Defensive Coordinator at Lutheran West High School in Cleveland, Robbins implemented the 53 Double Eagle system that had at its focus the objective of stopping the run. After moving to start the program at Dallas Lutheran, Robbins evolved his defense to a 3-5 while his offense ran a shot-gun triple option.

"Once we establish a coaching staff, we'll figure out the specifics of the schemes we'll want to run," Robbins said. "But right now, my primary focus is recruiting players that will be a positive addition to this campus. Long-term, we'll have the foundation set the build a championship team that has character and challenges the kids physically, spiritually and academically."

Robbins, who played collegiately at Concordia University-Seward in Nebraska, graduated in 1999. Initially recruited as a quarterback, an injury put Robbins on the defensive scout team his first season and that lead to a career as a three-year starting free safety, where Coach Robbins earned First-Team All-Conference each season. Robbins was also named the National Defensive Player of the Week as a Bulldog player.

Robbins met his wife of nine-years during his college days in Nebraska. Laura Robbins is a former volleyball player at Concordia-Seward and has coached the volleyball squad at Dallas Lutheran for the last several years.

The Robbins' have four children: Skyler, age seven; Kylyn, age five; Makynna, age four; and T.D., age two.