Michael Phelan

Michael Phelan is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach for Franklin & Marshall College, a position he has held since 2025. Phelan previously served as the defensive coordinator and recruiting director at Franklin & Marshall College for three seasons from 2022 to 2024. Before coming to F&M, Phelan spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at Castleton University from 2017 to 2018 and defensive coordinator at St. Lawrence University in 2021.

In his first season at F&M, Phelan coached the Diplomats to win the 2025 Centennial Conference football championship. Earning an automatic bid from the championship win, Phelan will coach Franklin & Marshall to its first ever NCAA Division III football championship appearance.

Playing career Phelan played as a defensive back for the St. Lawrence Saints. While playing for St. Lawrence, the team was ranked top ten nationally and the defense led the nation in passing efficiency.

As the no. 25 ranked team, F&M entered the Centennial Conference championship against no. 3 as a heavy underdog. After the first quarter, the Diplomats trailed Johns Hopkins 0-21. However, the Diplomats rallied in the second quarter, scoring 14 unanswered points to narrow the lead to 21–14. After a touchdown pass in the third quarter, the game entered overtime tied at 21–21. After Johns Hopkins landed a touchdown and one-point conversion, the Diplomats answered with a touchdown and two-point conversion to secure the upset victory.

NCAA playoffs The Diplomats earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III football championship, the first in school history.

Head coaching record