Mike Fitzgerald had a good thing going and wasn’t looking to leave. Then a better opportunity popped up, and he couldn’t say no.
After breathing new life into a moribund program at York, Fitzgerald stepped down in January to take over at Marist.
‘‘It’s kind of come full circle,’’ Fitzgerald told the Sun-Times after a recent practice. ‘‘Starting my high school coaching career here — when we got here in 2008, we built this thing up. Coach [Pat] Dunne did a great job leading it. It’s cool being a part of that foundation and then coming back.’’
When Dunne and Fitzgerald arrived in Mount Greenwood, the RedHawks had missed the IHSA playoffs in 10 of the previous 11 seasons. But the script flipped immediately, as Marist finished 9-3 in their first season and went 11-3 with a trip to the Class 8A championship game in 2009.
Fitzgerald was the offensive coordinator for those teams. The RedHawks reached the playoffs all six seasons he was on staff before leaving to take his first head-coaching job at St. Francis in 2014.
Then came a two-year run as the offensive coordinator at Naperville North before Fitzgerald moved to York. Things started clicking for the Dukes in the fall of 2021 with a return to the playoffs after an eight-year drought. In 2022 came their first unbeaten and untied regular season and the first of back-to-back berths in the Class 8A semifinals.
So why move? Fitzgerald understands the question.
‘‘This whole thing came out of nowhere,’’ he said. ‘‘And that’s what made it even more difficult. I’ve got a lot of love for York and put my heart and soul into that thing.
‘‘Ultimately, this was just an opportunity I felt like I couldn’t pass on.’’
With three young children, the chance to have a better work-life balance was a key draw. Fitzgerald no longer will be teaching and instead will be working in Marist’s admissions office.
‘‘This provides a lot of things for my family and my lifestyle,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s the type of place that could be a career job. . . .
‘‘Marist has an understanding of what it takes and the support that’s needed and the demands that are on a coach. . . . I always laugh when people say, ‘Are you enjoying your downtime?’ I’m waking up at 5 in the morning. The recruiting thing is year-round. You’re teaching five classes, then you have college coaches coming in during your lunch [period].’’
Marist went 4-5 and missed the playoffs last fall but looks primed for a deep postseason run this year. Fifteen starters return, including three Division I commits: defensive linemen Brad Fitzgibbon (Iowa) and Achilles Anderson (Harvard) and running back John McAuliffe (Cornell), who had more than 1,600 all-purpose yards with 22 touchdowns in 2023. Junior Rico Schrieber, a 6-7, 350-pounder, also has multiple Power Four scholarship offers.
Fitzgibbon heard good things about Fitzgerald from relatives who played for him during his first stint at Marist.
‘‘I was super-excited for him to get here,’’ Fitzgibbon said. ‘‘He’s a real leader you can look up to. He’s a real voice of inspiration. When he talks, everybody listens.’’
Fitzgerald isn’t the only coach taking over a high-profile program this fall. Here are four more:
After four seasons as the head coach at Westinghouse and seven at Kenwood, Turner returns to his alma mater. He built the Broncos into a city power, with two Public League titles and a berth in the state quarterfinals in 2022.
A former player and assistant at Mount Carmel, among other stops, Goffer gets his first head-coaching job as the replacement for Turner.
Gelsomino was promoted from defensive coordinator to replace Fitzgerald with the Dukes. He previously was 18-12 with two playoff berths in three seasons at Ridgewood in 2016-18.
An assistant for the Wolves the last two seasons, Frericks replaces Chris Schremp, who went 187-64 with three state titles in 22 seasons.