When Loyola Chicago men’s soccer head coach Steve Bode stepped onto campus for his final interview, he didn’t need showing around much.

He’d smelled the turf before, heard the sounds of a bustling locker room. He’d seen the players — now his players — go through the joys of winning and anguish of defeat. He could navigate his way to the head coach’s office.

A former assistant coach for the Ramblers, Bode made his return to the program in January, brought on to oversee the program after Neil Jones left for Wisconsin. It was, by most accounts, a smart hire, the homecoming of a high-quality assistant turned head coach. And for Bode, after seven years of bouncing around various coaching jobs in college soccer, it might just be a time to settle and build a team of his own.

“Getting back here in January, I just came in with fresh eyes,” Bode said. “It was great from the standpoint of a smoother transition because it wasn't completely new for me.”

Bode’s coaching resume is extensive but lacks continuity. Since taking on an assistant role for Brown in 2015, the Milwaukee native has never spent more than a year in a job, jumping from men's college soccer to women’s — with a stint in the MLS-affiliated USL in between. But as he takes on his first head coach role at the collegiate level, stability is a priority, driven by an impetus to mold a competitive program.

The path from college standout to head coach is well-trodden at this point, with some of the nation’s most successful coaches developed from the lower rungs of division one assistant jobs.

Bode’s method of travel, though, is different. His network expands well beyond the confines of mid-major programs. In 2018, the then-Marquette assistant coach made an unusual leap, accepting the managerial job at USL Division II side Chicago FC United. The gig — in which Bode coached college players over the summer — brought material success in the form of a second-place finish amidst a tricky division.

But for Bode, it represented a crucial perspective, an ability to connect with players who have ambitions beyond the confines of a college pitch.

“The different experiences you can get outside of the college game, whether it be an elite club, USL, or MLS, I think it just broadens your perspective,” Bode said.

Over the course of his coaching career, Bode has developed something of a knack for cultivating pro talent. In 2018, he worked closely with Aidan Megally, helping the All-Conference midfielder become a national standout and MLS draftee. Megally, selected 33rd overall by Dallas in 2019, was Megally’s 11th pro on the men’s side of the game.

It’s that high-level of coaching that he looks to bring to a Loyola Chicago team that only has five NCAA Tournament appearances to its name. To change that, Bode will dive into the area that raised him. A Milwaukee native — whose only job outside of the Midwest was a brief stint at Brown — he’s hoping to build his squad anew from the rife connections at his disposal.

“Midwestern soccer certainly has its traits,” Bode said. “Stronger, probably more corn fed.”

Bode describes his approach as team focused. Operating in an area that lacks the technical quality of soccer strongholds such as southern California, Bode wants to build a well-drilled squad, one hard to beat, one determined to make 90 minutes as difficult as possible for its opposition.

So far, the pieces are there. Bode has put together a strong coaching staff, employing former colleagues from Chicago FC United and Marquette. And he has an intriguing squad to dip into. The Ramblers lost nine players from the team that finished second in the Missouri Valley Conference. But some crucial talents remain, including defender Michael Hong and goalscoring threat Oscar Dueso.

How exactly everything comes together won’t be clear until August 1, when his full squad reports for pre-season.

“We're gonna have seven new players coming in, once August hits, and then the dynamic changes,” Bode said.

There will be further challenges, too. Loyola Chicago enters a new conference in the A-10, where it will compete with stronger teams, and go on longer road trips — burdened with travel as far as Rhode Island.

Still, Bode knows his area. He’s talked to his players before, walked through his halls, stepped onto his pitch.

And that familiarity might just be enough to build something.