Catholic Central seeking new football coach

McKenna resigns after four seasons at the helm of Irish
Catholic Central’s Tyler Young tries to avoid Northeastern’s Jordan Hood on Sept. 20, 2019. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

Catholic Central’s Tyler Young tries to avoid Northeastern’s Jordan Hood on Sept. 20, 2019. BILL LACKEY/STAFF
Sports
By Michael Cooper
Nov 18, 2019
X

The Catholic Central High School football program is seeking a new head coach.

Mike McKenna, a longtime assistant under former coach Steve DeWitt, resigned last week after four seasons at the helm.

The Irish program struggled with about 20 players on its roster — mostly freshmen — and finished 0-10 for the second straight season.

Irish athletic director Jon Metzger credited McKenna with keeping the program alive over the last two years.

»HS FOOTBALL: Regional final playoff pairings

“He’s had a really tough job with the lack of numbers we’ve had in the program and this year especially with our youth,” Metzger said. “Any time you have a situation like that, it’s going to be tough to win and be competitive. He had a very tough job week-in and week-out keeping us going and getting us out on the field every Friday night. My hat’s off to the coaches and the players for keeping us going this year.”

Catholic Central coach Mike McKenna, right, talks to Dominic DeWitt during a game against Graham on Friday, Sept. 2, 2016, at Hallinean Field in Springfield. David Jablonski/Staff

Credit: David Jablonski

icon to expand image

Credit: David Jablonski

The job was recently posted on the Ohio High School Athletic Association website. The application period closed on Nov. 12. There were about 15 applicants for the job, which is expected to be filled before the end of the year, Metzger said.

“We’re still sorting through those and we’re going to begin interviews soon,” he said. “Our goal is to definitely get it done before then so we can give whoever we hire a chance to get offseason workouts going and get the guys together and get going for next year. We want to get started sooner rather than later.”

Catholic Central has one of the most storied programs in Clark County history. The Irish have made 12 playoff appearances, including a D-IV state runner-up finish in 1991 and a trip to the D-VI state semifinals in 2007. McKenna served as an assistant for 25 years before taking over the program in 2016.

Catholic Central’s last winning season came in 2016, McKenna’s first year as head coach, when the Irish finished 6-4. Since that season, the Irish are 3-27.

The Irish middle school team had about 20 players last season and won the Ohio Heritage Conference South Division title with a 7-0-1 record.

“There’s talent there and there’s numbers, so that makes us hopeful,” Metzger said.

McKenna could be not be reached for comment.

In Other News
1
Ohio politician proposes bill to make flag planting a felony after...
2
Having regained his health, Terry Francona excited to return to dugout...
3
Bengals begin prep for Titans, former offensive coordinator
4
Ohio State-Tennessee: First look at the Volunteers
5
Burrow: Privacy ‘violated in more ways than one’ in home burglary

About the Author

Michael Cooper