I was called into a meeting and was told my expectations were too much for a small Group 1 school. That I would be a better fit at a Group 4 or a parochial (school). And they didn’t want to make that commitment.”

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Would any 1A or 2A school in Illinois talk like this?

I am going with Macpherson

After the opening 2 losses, look at the crazy run that Loyola went on… insane

As for Logan M, I think that the biggest draw back from colleges pulling the trigger on him is his height.

He is listed at 5’8 but I am thinking that is with his cleats on while on his top toes

He is going to be a phenomenal get for a D3 school

Alexander32 said:

That is only one piece of evidence. However, as one piece of evidence it does suggest it is easier to be successful at a private school than at a public school. The same coach that had a .571 winning percentage (and no state championships) at a public school, had a .796 winning percentage (and six state championships) at a private school. Perhaps there is something beneficially unique about the private high schools with respect to football success.

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I would like to see some of the top-tier private school coaches take over a mid to low-tier public program and see how long it takes to create their "culture" of winning.

eireog said:

I bet Uncle Junior wouldn’t complain about the off season lifting. Probably why Tony never had the makings of a varsity athlete- he didn’t lift in the off season.

And another public school advantage- no lifting in the off season.

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Woke up this morning
Not gonna work my guns

If your program isn't lifting in the offseason, it's a bad program. I certainly hope there was more to his firing than asking his players to commit to an offseason program.

USD24 said:

Dan Sharp was 24-18 with 3 playoff appearances in 4 seasons at Minooka before he left for JCA. At JCA, he was 199-51 with 6 titles in 20 years.

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That is only one piece of evidence. However, as one piece of evidence it does suggest it is easier to be successful at a private school than at a public school. The same coach that had a .571 winning percentage (and no state championships) at a public school, had a .796 winning percentage (and six state championships) at a private school. Perhaps there is something beneficially unique about the private high schools with respect to football success.

HotBeer said:

Does the city of Evanston have a strong youth football program?

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I don't have 1st hand experience, but I don't think the numbers are there in the same way as many suburbs with more successful hs programs. Soccer is popular, very competitive, and hs teams have been excellent. Same for basketball. Baseball has been quite strong in recent years. Need to find a way to get kids in Evanston dreaming of playing under the lights for the hometown school.

kpjasion said:

The used to be one of the best programs around in the late 70s and 80s. I can remember fall of 1981 when 2-4 Maine East played 6-0 and #1 in Class 6A Evanston.... and Maine East managed to pull of a 13-12 upset in overtime. It was HUGE to beat Evanston at that time.

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Still lead the state by a good margin in guys sent to the NFL. Looks like some big time talent went through there in mid 70's- early 80's as well as in early- mid 90's : https://www.pro-football-reference.com/schools/high_schools.cgi?hs_state=IL

Last FBS kid however is Sebastian Cheeks, who is R-So at Wisconsin (transferred from UNC).

BillyTheBuffoon said:

IMO, Evanston being mediocre at football is one of the great mysteries. Too large of a school not to be able to find 60 athletic boys a class along with having a culture of solid athletics across all sports

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They used to be one of the best programs around in the late 70s and 80s. I can remember fall of 1981 when 2-4 Maine East played 6-0 and #1 in Class 6A Evanston.... and Maine East managed to pull of a 13-12 upset in overtime. It was HUGE to beat Evanston at that time.

What Cj Cesario of Chicago Christian did in Year 1 is remarkable!

johnndoe said:

Gotta wonder if HF alum Adam Lewandowski, about 10 years HC at Andrew after many years assisting at Crete-Monee, would give it a thought?

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I actually know Lewandowski and he would be a great hire.

crusader_of_90 said:

Is this a hint? Big 10 linemen are known for bulk.

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He is scheduled to visit Friday

Does the city of Evanston have a strong youth football program?

crusader_of_90 said:

Is this a hint? Big 10 linemen are known for bulk.

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He'd be a Bielema dream

RunNorth-South said:

That is the conversation I think we might need to start having. I personally think that the good private schools do have an advantage in terms of acquiring talent, and that the current environment of high school sports is morphing the playing field into a place where those schools are outclassing everyone by such a large margin that it's not even fun for a fandom anymore. Even those that disagree with the first part of my statement (that privates have a talent-acquiring advantage) can at least acknowledge that there are very few schools that can even be on the same field as some of the current private juggernauts (which Snetsrak61 does seem to allude to agreeing with on some level in the statement above).

I saw it every week in the prediction threads - anyone who might predict that someone might beat a Mt. Carmel or Loyola was usually dismissed by multiple posters as "no, this game won't be close. Three scores at least." And... that was pretty much always true. And the few public schools that are usually pointed to as examples of why private school success is clearly just the result of "good coaching and hard work" - Maine South and Lincoln Way East - weren't honestly as close as the scores for the games they played against Loyola. Call me an overreactor to a short time frame (that might be a fair statement... for now) but I am genuinely concerned the gap exists and is getting larger.

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Not sandbag Naz too much or deflect "blame" elsewhere, but I was curious at margins..

Team - 2022 margin - 2023 margin - 2024 margin - 3 year avg (per game)
Naz - 16.8 - 15.6 - 26.2 - 19.5
MtC - 27 - 34.6 - 24.4 - 28.7
LA - 22.6 - 23.4 - 18.2 - 21.4

I was actually surprised Naz's 2023 margin was even that high. But it's really thrown off by one early round blowout and a title game that was probably closer for most than the final showed, plus IMO was very impacted by a big injury on the other side. You'd be pretty hard pressed to argue they weren't as well matched up in 5 playoff games as could be expected in 2023, with 3 1 score games and the afformentioned champ game that was really a fair matchup. State Champs often have 1 close game if we're lucky. In 2022 they arguably just got an easy quarters slot by luck and then barely got by very good Sycamore and Peoria teams by 3 and 1 respectively. Of course that was then a unique sitaution where both those years happened with very young teams... By this year they were battle tested and looked like a team on a different competetive plane with a healthy margin of victory. I guess your mileage may vary if you think that's a fair/earned advantage come 2024 by narrowly repeating and gaining 10 extra games of experience or that experience is a "multiplying" force that should bump a school (and is it in any way dependent on it they return a large number of starters or not).

Loyola had a margin I was pleasently surprised by. And obviously theres no where else to bump them to except seperate fully or to push new restrictions. Them and Mt. Carmel are basically 1 of few in IL with ESL and LWE really the only others in discussion to that consistency. Naz and JCA are mid size equivalents to a large degree but also we have lots of h2h data to show that gap is still real between the large and small/mid (or Rochester in 4A).

Is this a hint? Big 10 linemen are known for bulk.

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JAYC14 said:

Edgy has it as an opening.
Amazing opportunity!! Their updated facilities and staff are awesome (top notch weightroom and fieldhouse). Their Strength and Conditioning Coach and his PE staff are one of the best in the country in building athletes. Plus, their Track and Field team is loaded with speed.

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Also, a full-sized all-weather turf practice field along with a 40-yd artificial field INSIDE the fieldhouse separate from the track oval.

SouthofI80FootballFan said:

Maybe up north but south of I-80, this is absolutely no true.

Most HFC's are full time teachers or have admin positions at the school. However, most schools will not allow an admin (AD, Principal, Dean, etc.) to coach. I know of coaches who teach 6 and even 7 periods a day and have really good programs, perennial powerhouses, and even state champions. Not all are PE teachers either, some are even teach AP US History, College Level Math, and Dual Credit English.

Their stipends are probably a little above $5,000 but it varies from one district to the next.

If a school is paying $100,000 to a HFC, then their priorities are not about education, its about winning games. If you want to see a disadvantage of a public school, they cannot pay the HFC beyond what is stated in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and as I said, its usually around $5000 or so. So they can't offer former NFL players, former college coaches, etc., large sums of money.

On a side note, I've seen people talk about private school coaches going to public schools and not having the same success. Are there any public school coaches that went to a private school and had more success?

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Dan Sharp was 24-18 with 3 playoff appearances in 4 seasons at Minooka before he left for JCA. At JCA, he was 199-51 with 6 titles in 20 years.

SouthofI80FootballFan said:

On a side note, I've seen people talk about private school coaches going to public schools and not having the same success. Are there any public school coaches that went to a private school and had more success?

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Fitzgerald at Marist always jumps to mind

BillyTheBuffoon said:

IMO, Evanston being mediocre at football is one of the great mysteries. Too large of a school not to be able to find 60 athletic boys a class along with having a culture of solid athletics across all sports

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Yeah, its a bit surprising, but I think multiple factors go into it. To me, participation is the key ingredient (by end of this season, only ~40 kids were suiting up on varsity). Many Evanston parents don't let their boys play football, basketball is king at Evanston & almost no boys play both at varsity level, and then we definitely have Evanston kids go to Loyola & Notre Dame (even Mt. Carmel!) probably (at least partly) because we haven't competed at highest levels.

Definitely think there are a group of boys that can play who are returning next year, hope they are able to rally behind new coach (not a slight on Coach Buzz) & start some positive momentum. I'm also encouraging my son to work the hallways to encourage good athletes who don't have a fall sport to give football a try

kwamizee said:

Any school that cares about the performance of their football team does not have their HC in a classroom all day. If they are in a class, it is often one that contributes to his football team ie PE lifting class, assistant AD, Dean.

Bad programs more often than not will have their HC teach 4-5+ classes.

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Maybe up north but south of I-80, this is absolutely no true.

Most HFC's are full time teachers or have admin positions at the school. However, most schools will not allow an admin (AD, Principal, Dean, etc.) to coach. I know of coaches who teach 6 and even 7 periods a day and have really good programs, perennial powerhouses, and even state champions. Not all are PE teachers either, some are even teach AP US History, College Level Math, and Dual Credit English.

Their stipends are probably a little above $5,000 but it varies from one district to the next.

If a school is paying $100,000 to a HFC, then their priorities are not about education, its about winning games. If you want to see a disadvantage of a public school, they cannot pay the HFC beyond what is stated in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and as I said, its usually around $5000 or so. So they can't offer former NFL players, former college coaches, etc., large sums of money.

On a side note, I've seen people talk about private school coaches going to public schools and not having the same success. Are there any public school coaches that went to a private school and had more success?

guerinfbfan said:

Is it fair to compare Evanston to OPRF?

Similar mix of socioeconomic backgrounds with their student body, but also a large private school in their backyard.

Assume the Kits have talent roaming the halls.

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I don't know the situation at OPRF well enough to compare, but it does feel similar. It seems people like to compare Evanston and Oak Park in general.

Edgy has it as an opening.
Amazing opportunity!! Their updated facilities and staff are awesome (top notch weightroom and fieldhouse). Their Strength and Conditioning Coach and his PE staff are one of the best in the country in building athletes. Plus, their Track and Field team is loaded with speed.

IMO, Evanston being mediocre at football is one of the great mysteries. Too large of a school not to be able to find 60 athletic boys a class along with having a culture of solid athletics across all sports