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Goal of next coach will be to make Dexter football great
By Nick LeBlanc
Since Ken Koenig had more than 15 years of coaching experience, it was a surprise to many that, as head coach, he was unable to put together a winning season. In reality, Dexter has never consistently excelled at the sport.
According to Michigan-football.com, Dexter has only had eight seasons, dating back to 1950, where they only lost two or fewer games and were truly dominant.
The last time Dexter lost only two games was in 1989. In comparison, Dexter’s rival, Chelsea, has had 17 of these dominant seasons.
Issues like instability in coaching staffs and lack of players on the team have all played a huge role in the lack of victories for the Dreads since 1989. The losing trend in Dexter carried over to Koenig’s reign and ultimately caused his resignation.
This may have been the true cause for the resignation; however, with outside pressure from the community, many feel as though community backlash due to the lack of winning seasons may have had an influence on the decision.
Athletics Director Mike Bavineau ensured that in no way would he let the thoughts of others influence that kind of decision.
“You can be super successful and you’ll still have people who will disagree with what you’re doing,” Bavineau said. “In that sense, I can’t say outside pressure was a factor in the process.”
Looking forward, the future of the program is still unknown since no head coach has been hired yet. What is known is that the job may no longer be held by someone working for Dexter Community Schools.
“We are open to anyone who wants to apply for the job,” Bavineau said. “We have already been contacted by multiple people and will begin the interview process once enough time has passed to give people time to apply.”
One thing Bavineau made clear is the new coach will have freedom to assemble his own coaching staff.
“Moving forward, we are going to allow the new head coach to bring in their own guys if they want because we don’t want to force the new coach into a situation where they don’t agree with the old coaching staff.”
Despite the questions and unknowns surrounding Dexter football, what is know is that whoever ends up becoming the new head coach of the varsity football team will have to try and provide something for the varsity program that no other coach has been able to do since 1989: wins.
“Throughout the seasons, I, and we, have learned to trust one another,” senior Seamus McCurren said. “The bond that Koenig helped create throughout the team is one I’ll never forget.”
