After 13 years of coaching the J. Sterling Morton football program, head coach, Bob Organ, will be stepping down from his position as head coach. Coach Organ was the longest-tenured coach in school history. Prior to his start, there were 4 coaches to hold the head coach position in a matter of 10 years. While total wins and losses may show otherwise, Coach Organ was the most successful coach in school history since 1985, when Coach Dave Cherico held this position.

The Sterling asked Coach Organ a couple of questions on his tenure here at Morton.

How do you feel about the Morton football program for the coming years?

“I think it’s in a great place. I think there is much success coming down the road. I think they are going to be very solid in the coming years. We went 3-6, 3-6 for the past two years and only five to six plays from being 6-3. I will be the biggest fan of the kids and the program, and everything else in any direction they take.”

What will you miss most about your time here for the past 13 years?

“The kids, the players. This is something you miss as a player, it’s not the practices or the games. It is the comradery you have when you play and it transitions into coaching. The relationships you make, from the kids coming in as freshmen and leaving as seniors, with the maturity process they take and become young men right in front of you. Giving them tools to becoming a better person, not just in football but in life.”

Do you see yourself coaching again after some time away?

“My plan is to take a year off and see if I miss it. I’ve been coaching for 25 years. Ever since I was 9, it has been football in the fall. My older daughter is in college playing softball, my middle one is going to be playing at the same college in a year and a half. My son is starting football next year. There is 50 different reasons why I stepped down, it was not just one reason. It is going to be weird, and it is already weird with not being in the weight room and not being apart of the daily routine. I do plan on spending more time with my dad up north, and we will see what comes around as time goes on.”

What type of coach would you want for this program? What attributes do you believe are vital for this program to have success?

“If I had to pick, it would be someone with high integrity, doing things right, discipline for the kids, and just be there for the kids. Do things the right away. Do not bend on grades. Something I stood on was no matter how good you are to play, if you are not doing things right, you are not going to play. I hope that continues. Integrity for the game, for the kids. Being there for the kids. It’s why coaches get into this business.

The Sterling thanks Coach Organ for his time and dedication to this school and the football program.

Finding a new head coach for a high school football program is not an easy challenge, especially meeting the standards of Coach Organ whos tenure ran for 13 years. Leading this process will be athletic director, Daniel Woulfe. The Sterling asked Mr. Woulfe a couple of questions on how he plans to proceed with the searching process.

How does the process of finding a new head coach go?

“To start the process you narrow your candidate list to the candidates that have the qualities that you are looking for in your next head coach. Once you have those candidates, you move on to first round interviews where you narrow your list down again based on their skills and answers to your questions. Lastly, you decide on the candidate that has been most consistent throughout the process and models what you want in a head football coach.”

What type of coach do you want to bring into the program? Someone based off their offensive/defensive minded strength? If so, why?

“You look for a well rounded coach, not just one that is knowledgeable in X’s and O’s. There are so many different hats that a head football coach has to wear, that you cannot simply hire one that knows the strategy of the game. They have to know how to run a PROGRAM.”

Do you plan to go in-house or outside of the program for the new coach? Why or why not?

“The athletic department plans to let the process play out during interviews and make sure that this decision is what is best for OUR PROGRAM. That is how we will decide on who our next head football coach will be.”

The interview process is set to begin the last week of January, and Mr. Woulfe plans to have his final decision made by the middle of February.