FOOTBALL: New Faces & New Places

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It’s getting rarer and rarer in Region High School football for a coach to be at a school long-term. Where once we had Mark Hoffman, Kirk Kennedy and Russ Radtke put in a decade plus worth of work at a school, we now have coaches that are constantly on the move for one reason or another. In fact, only four active coaches in Northwest Indiana began at their current school prior to 2000 (Leroy Marsh, Bob Schellinger, Jeff Cain & Roy Richards) and only three others that have been at their school prior to 2010 (Zac Wells, Ivan Zimmer & Phil Mason). As football season creeps closer and closer, let’s take a look at the 2014 sideline changes.

PAUL DOUGLASS – BISHOP NOLL

In the search to replace Mike Juscik who left BNI for the college ranks, Bishop Noll reached outside of the Region to nab Paul Douglass, previously an assistant at Cardinal Ritter in Indy. This is the first varsity head coaching job or Douglass and it’ll be interesting to see what kind of style he brings to a team who hasn’t won a sectional since 1989.

 

ERIC SCHREIBER – CLARK

A rare instance of a coach moving from one school to another in the same district, Eric Schreiber traded in the purple and white of the Hammond High Wildcats for the blue and white of the Clark Pioneers. Clark represents the fifth head coaching position for Schreiber since 2001 and the third school in the city of Hammond that he’s led.

 

JAY NOVAK – EC CENTRAL

Schreiber’s predecessor at Clark, Novak gets to take over a program that he helped coach for years. Previously an assistant at EC before his two year stint with the Pioneers, Novak inherits a program that’s coming off their first ever sectional title, but one that has a lot of key pieces to replace.

 

ROOSEVELT MOORE – HAMMOND HIGH

The last of the coaches to be hired into their position, former Wildcat standout Roosevelt Moore wasn’t officially named the coach until August 5, although he had been the acting head coach since Schreiber departed for Clark. Hammond High’s been through a lot of coaches in recent years (Moore is the fifth coach since the start of 2006) so having a former Wildcat take over should bring some stability to the sidelines.

 

ROBERT HARRISON – HANOVER CENTRAL

The rest of the coaches on this list inherited their programs but Harrison was a key part in building in his team from the ground up as Hanover Central enters the varsity football fray this year. The Wildcats were extremely successful with a JV only schedule last season – we’ll see how that translates to varsity action.

 

TED WHITE – NORTH JUDSON

After years as an assistant with Russ Radtke, Ted White finally gets his opportunity as a head coach at his alma mater. Ask anyone who’s ever met the man – not only will they be excited for Ted, but they’ll be excited for the future of North Judson football.

 

ROB HANSON – RIVER FOREST

Jeff Bean, who did a nice job with the Ingots, was the victim of a reduction in force and is gone from the school and in steps in Rob Hanson. The former Gavit and Highland head coach has been away from the high school sidelines for several years, but brings a wealth of experience that will help the RiverForest program pick up where Bean left off.

 

RICK BURNAU – SOUTH CENTRAL

And you thought there was instability at Hammond High….Rick Burnau is the seventh head coach at South Central since the start of the 2007 campaign (and that counts the coach who was hired but never made it to the season). Burnau has been with the Satellites for the past couple seasons which will help with a hire that was made this late in the summer.