Levi Nelson named Green Bay Blizzard head coach, GM

Rich Palzewic

Staff

October 19, 2026

GREEN BAY – Going back to his time living in Ohio, Levi Nelson said he had never heard of the Green Bay Blizzard or attended an Indoor Football League (IFL) game.

Relocating his young family to Green Bay during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Nelson’s journey from Ohio to Titletown recently took a major turn when the Blizzard named him head coach and general manager in mid-September.

Nelson, a self-described man of faith who believes everything happens for a reason, said this latest move to the IFL perfectly reflects his beliefs.

“I’d rate it a 10 out of 10,” Nelson said of being named head coach/GM. “It’s exciting for me, my family and for everybody in my network. I am blessed to have this huge tribe behind me supporting and investing in me. I feel a lot of people are celebrating this with me.”

Nelson said there are times in life where one might question why something turned out a certain way, but with his new role leading the Blizzard, he feels the timing is right.

“My four-year-old is at that stage where anytime he wants to do anything, he has to check with me to make sure Blizzard players do that – ‘Dad, do Blizzard players eat Jell-O or fruit snacks?’” Nelson laughed. “I don’t think it’s entirely set in with my kids yet, but they’re super excited that Dad gets to keep working with the team because the Blizzard are such a big part of this community.”

Nelson takes over a team that has gone a combined 36-12 the last three years and played in the IFL title game each of the last two.

Before Nelson, Corey Roberson spent seven seasons as the Blizzard’s head coach, taking over the position in 2019 after serving as interim coach late in the 2018 season.

Roberson stepped down in September after 14 years with the organization.

During his tenure, he led Green Bay to two consecutive IFL National Championship appearances (2025 and 2026) and was named IFL Coach of the Year twice.

“I’m out to prove they made the right hire,” Nelson said. “I have an attitude of gratitude each day waking up and knowing I have this bigger platform.”

Community feel

Holding various roles within the organization during the past three seasons, Nelson said he has seen firsthand the Blizzard’s community impact.

Working in the Green Bay Area Public School District since moving to the area in 2020, he said students and teachers have always reacted positively to him wearing Blizzard attire in the past.

“They’ll say, ‘Two years ago, a Blizzard player came in and spoke with us, and we still remember that,’” Nelson said. “I’m a huge community guy – that’s a big part of why we moved here from Ohio. Having the platform to serve this community in this way is amazing, and we’re very thankful for the opportunity. I’m also thrilled to continue working with the other great people and coaches within the organization.”

With several coaches on staff who were former Blizzard players themselves, Nelson said “selling” the Green Bay community to recruits is part of his job as the new head coach/GM.

“I can share my journey with [prospective] players on how I got here and what’s to love about Green Bay,” he said. “I can’t say enough about Green Bay and what the Blizzard means to this community. I tell all the players we try to recruit that my job and the job of the Blizzard is to give them the best experience possible here in Green Bay.”

With players aspiring to play in higher leagues like the United Football League or the Canadian Football League, Nelson said the organization realizes the IFL is more than likely a stepping stone to something bigger for the players.

“Guys want to get back to playing outdoors,” he said. “The IFL is a big deal, so we want to make their time in Green Bay the best possible. The Green Bay community plays a big, important role in that.”

A love for the Packers

Born and raised in St. Clairsville, Ohio, Nelson said he is a lifelong Green Bay Packers fan.

Growing up, he said his family would attend one Packers game yearly as part of their annual vacation.

“Green Bay was a place that really ‘screamed’ to me,” Nelson said. “With the Packers games we’d come to, I fell in love with this place. When an opportunity opened up to live and coach here at Green Bay East High School, my wife, Lindsay, and I took a leap of faith.”

Giving his wife “a ton of credit,” Nelson said Lindsay had never spent an extended amount of time in Green Bay besides attending a couple of Packers games.

Before moving to Northeast Wisconsin in 2020, he said the couple had just welcomed their first daughter.

“Though an exciting time, we were moving away from friends and family, and it was a very difficult time buying a house,” Nelson said. “I quickly found out the Green Bay community was even more than I had imagined. I’ve told people multiple times in the past [that when I pass away], I hope they bury me in my backyard.”

Though IFL players and coaches might be looking to move on to bigger and better things, Nelson said he doesn’t feel that pertains to him.

“I am not looking to move on – it was purely a dream come true to coach here in Green Bay,” he said. “We’re here for the long haul and hope to be with the Blizzard for a long time, too.”

From high school coach to Blizzard coach

When Nelson saw the Green Bay East job opening at the end of 2019, naturally, he said, he applied – “Who wouldn’t want to coach high school football where the Packers once called home, at City Stadium?”

After some time had passed, Nelson said when he received a phone call from a “920” area code, he was a bit confused as to what the call pertained to.

“It had been so long after I applied, I kind of forgot I even applied,” he laughed. “I was hired to coach the football team and teach.”

Remembering his comment that “everything happens for a reason,” Nelson said after spending three years teaching at East, his job was being displaced – so he stepped down as coach and decided that future employment would come outside the building.

“I wasn’t forced out of coaching,” he said. “[East Athletic Director] Steph Mathu informed me I was more than welcome to stay on as coach, but after thinking things through, I didn’t think it was best to teach outside of the school and then still coach at East. I think it’s important to be in the same building you coach in.”

After taking a step back, Nelson said he remained a teacher in the area after leaving East.

Despite his current role at Green Bay Southwest High School winding down, and his role with the Blizzard ramping up, he said the school made him feel at home.

“I really loved the administration and the staff – it was such a great fit,” Nelson said. “As much as I loved Southwest, being named the coach and GM of the Blizzard was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity [my family and I] felt we couldn’t pass up. With my new opportunity, everyone has been incredibly supportive. It was hard to resign from Southwest, especially since the school year had started.”

Blizzard connection

Not having been to an IFL game before moving to Green Bay, Nelson said when he first began coaching at East, he was told the team shared its headsets with the Blizzard.

“That’s how I got to know Corey Roberson,” he said. “East used the headsets in the fall and then would pass them on to the Blizzard for their spring season. Coach Roberson invited my family and me to a game, and then after I left East, I started coaching with the team. It’s awesome to think back to that time and how it connected me to the Blizzard.”

According to the team’s website (greenbayblizzard.com), Nelson holds a doctorate in sport and performance psychology and two master’s degrees in sport science/coaching and curriculum and instruction, to go along with his 17 years of football coaching experience.

Nelson first began with the team in 2024 as a wide receivers coach, then as team analyst, which unofficially developed into the role of “Director of Process.”

The website further states that Nelson’s background includes learning from process coach Justin Su’a at the Performance Advisory Group, where he works with elite-level athletes and performers across the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WWE, professional tennis and golf and more.

Nelson said he plans to foster what he calls a “player-led team, governed by the principles of Love, Effort, Attitude and Discipline – L-E-A-D.”

“These principles have been at the center of my coaching and leadership philosophy throughout my career,” he said. “They factor into every decision I make – not only as a football coach, but as a man, a father and a husband.”