NLC AND NIC COACHING OPENINGS

[Coach Lou]

Any news on the openings at Plymouth, Northridge, and Mishawaka Marian?

Will they look to fill those positions now or wait till spring when they know what teaching openings they have for next year?

[Coach Nowlin]

Marian just dropped info yesterday to apply, that could be into January 

I think Northridge and Plymouth are farther along 

 

[Coach Lou]

I see Plymouth is hiring the former Rochester head coach. Looks like a great hire for the Pilgrims.

 

Any word out of Northridge?

[F00tballGuy]

Northridge has it on the school board agenda for tonight.

 

Board Minutes

[Sparty]

7 hours ago, F00tballGuy said:

Northridge has it on the school board agenda for tonight.

 

Board Minutes

Just saw Luke Amstutz will be announced per MichianaSports.  

[Plymouthfan91]

On 1/7/2026 at 7:45 AM, Coach Lou said:

I see Plymouth is hiring the former Rochester head coach. Looks like a great hire for the Pilgrims.

 

Any word out of Northridge?

Haven't met coach yet but I have watched some Rochester Highlights.  I like the wing-T.  Can't wait to see what we look like next year.

[psaboy]

 

[Gold72]

On 1/14/2026 at 9:39 AM, Plymouthfan91 said:

Haven't met coach yet but I have watched some Rochester Highlights.  I like the wing-T.  Can't wait to see what we look like next year.

The Wing-T is a classic, fun system to watch, but a scheme is only as good as the guy running it.

To be honest, the gloss wears off fast. He can stack up wins against the cupcakes on the schedule, but he flat-out can't win the big games. He’s just not a program builder—under his watch, the roster actually shrank every single year because players didn't want to play for him. His game management is agonizing, too; he runs a basic six-play playbook, yet somehow it still takes him 20 seconds just to get a call in.

Sure, he managed to win a TRC title, but let’s be real—the conference is loaded with cupcakes. If you want to know how he handles actual pressure, ask him how many times he beat Valley. Spoiler alert: it’s exactly zero. He got flat-out outcoached every single time.

Jumping from the TRC to the NLC is going to be a massive wake-up call for him. The NLC doesn't hand out cupcake games, and without those easy wins, it’s going to make for a very long—or more likely, very short—tenure for Plymouth. Those highlights look great on paper, but we are just incredibly glad he’s their problem now and completely out of our hair.

[First_Backer_Inside]

On 5/16/2026 at 12:29 AM, Gold72 said:

The Wing-T is a classic, fun system to watch, but a scheme is only as good as the guy running it.

To be honest, the gloss wears off fast. He can stack up wins against the cupcakes on the schedule, but he flat-out can't win the big games. He’s just not a program builder—under his watch, the roster actually shrank every single year because players didn't want to play for him. His game management is agonizing, too; he runs a basic six-play playbook, yet somehow it still takes him 20 seconds just to get a call in.

Sure, he managed to win a TRC title, but let’s be real—the conference is loaded with cupcakes. If you want to know how he handles actual pressure, ask him how many times he beat Valley. Spoiler alert: it’s exactly zero. He got flat-out outcoached every single time.

Jumping from the TRC to the NLC is going to be a massive wake-up call for him. The NLC doesn't hand out cupcake games, and without those easy wins, it’s going to make for a very long—or more likely, very short—tenure for Plymouth. Those highlights look great on paper, but we are just incredibly glad he’s their problem now and completely out of our hair.

Look at the margin of victory between Valley and Rochester the years prior to him getting there. It was getting really bad. He comes in and every year it shrunk. If you watched the bell game last year you would know that one or two calls the refs made go a different way and that game might have a different outcome.

Look at the couple of seasons before he got there. Rochester wasn't even beating those cupcakes you speak of before he got there. There wasn't a push for utilizing the weightroom when he got there. All those things have changed. 

This is a really dumb take on your part in my opinion. Plymouth wants a guy that can get them back to a winning program. They got the right guy to do that. May not happen as quickly as Rochester, but it will be better than the 3 and 4 win seasons they've grown accustom to. 

Really crappy thing for a Rochester person to say about a guy who took over a program that went 4-15 in the two seasons before he got there and won 75% of the games they played the next 5 seasons. Easy for someone on the outside of the program who just sees the team on Friday nights to say. Clueless as to all the work he puts in the other 6 days of the week.

[Gold72]

11 hours ago, First_Backer_Inside said:

Look at the margin of victory between Valley and Rochester the years prior to him getting there. It was getting really bad. He comes in and every year it shrunk. If you watched the bell game last year you would know that one or two calls the refs made go a different way and that game might have a different outcome.

Look at the couple of seasons before he got there. Rochester wasn't even beating those cupcakes you speak of before he got there. There wasn't a push for utilizing the weightroom when he got there. All those things have changed. 

This is a really dumb take on your part in my opinion. Plymouth wants a guy that can get them back to a winning program. They got the right guy to do that. May not happen as quickly as Rochester, but it will be better than the 3 and 4 win seasons they've grown accustom to. 

Really crappy thing for a Rochester person to say about a guy who took over a program that went 4-15 in the two seasons before he got there and won 75% of the games they played the next 5 seasons. Easy for someone on the outside of the program who just sees the team on Friday nights to say. Clueless as to all the work he puts in the other 6 days of the week.

Blaming the refs for the Bell Game is the ultimate loser mentality. Great coaches win rivalry games; they don’t rely on a whistle to do it for them. He couldn’t beat Valley because he got out-schemed, plain and simple. And great job "utilizing the weight room" to the point where the roster literally shrank every single year because the kids didn’t want to play for him.

Stabilizing things against TRC cupcakes is one thing, but if he thinks he can coast on that in the NLC, he is in for a brutal awakening. There are no free passes against Warsaw, Mishawaka, or NorthWood.

But the biggest joke is defending his character. He's clearly not a Rochester guy, because a real Rochester guy wouldn't look those kids in the eye and lie to them. He told his own players he was retiring to spend time with family, only to immediately jump to Plymouth. Let's not forget he already tried to bail on Rochester for Maconaquah back in '24, too.

[First_Backer_Inside]

9 hours ago, Gold72 said:

Blaming the refs for the Bell Game is the ultimate loser mentality. Great coaches win rivalry games; they don’t rely on a whistle to do it for them. He couldn’t beat Valley because he got out-schemed, plain and simple. And great job "utilizing the weight room" to the point where the roster literally shrank every single year because the kids didn’t want to play for him.

Stabilizing things against TRC cupcakes is one thing, but if he thinks he can coast on that in the NLC, he is in for a brutal awakening. There are no free passes against Warsaw, Mishawaka, or NorthWood.

But the biggest joke is defending his character. He's clearly not a Rochester guy, because a real Rochester guy wouldn't look those kids in the eye and lie to them. He told his own players he was retiring to spend time with family, only to immediately jump to Plymouth. Let's not forget he already tried to bail on Rochester for Maconaquah back in '24, too.

I don't believe I blamed the refs. Never said anything about them missing a call. Simply stated that if a play was called differently it could have been a different outcome because it was a controversial call where both sideline judges called it differently. It didn't go in our favor and we moved on. Ask other head coaches of 2A programs around this area if their rosters are shrinking or growing. If you're a Rochester guy, ask Brant Beck if he would rather have played for someone else, ask Jabez Yarber who came from Caston what he thinks of Coach Shaffer, ask the Swango's, ask Alex Demming. If players didn't play for him or quit, they probably weren't wanting to be a football player in the first place.

I can tell you that was absolutely his plan to retire to spend more time with family. He also felt like it was time to step aside for someone to take over long term and it was the right time for that. Plymouth reached out to him because he is a winner and wanted him. If you want to know more about the Mac job feel free to PM me. I'm more than happy to explain it there.

The biggest joke here is you bashing a guy who took a program at one of it's lowest points in program history arguably and turning them back into a winner. Since you are so concerned about Rochester and the program, I'd love to hear what you have done in the last 5 years to help the program grow and succeed? 

[vicvinegar]

On 5/16/2026 at 12:29 AM, Gold72 said:

"The Wing-T is a classic, fun system to watch, but a scheme is only as good as the guy running it."

"He can stack up wins against the cupcakes on the schedule"

"His game management is agonizing, too; he runs a basic six-play playbook, yet somehow it still takes him 20 seconds just to get a call in."

 

I got dumber by reading these. 

Saying a guy who has never lost more than 3 games in a season isn't a good coach because he never beat a really good program is just ignorant.

 The whole "never a Rochester guy" is stupid. One thing I've learned is schools will do what's best for the school corporation, so teachers/coaches need to do the same for themselves. To hold coaches to a different standard because they get a 9k stipend is ridiculous.

I've only talked to Coach Shaffer once, seemed like a nice guy. I wish him the best of luck at Plymouth.

[First_Backer_Inside]

2 minutes ago, vicvinegar said:

I got dumber by reading these. 

Saying a guy who has never lost more than 3 games in a season isn't a good coach because he never beat a really good program is just ignorant.

 The whole "never a Rochester guy" is stupid. One thing I've learned is schools will do what's best for the school corporation, so teachers/coaches need to do the same for themselves. To hold coaches to a different standard because they get a 9k stipend is ridiculous.

I've only talked to Coach Shaffer once, seemed like a nice guy. I wish him the best of luck at Plymouth.

It's lower than that even at Rochester, and I believe they have one of the lowest paid coaches in the conference if not the lowest.

[Coach Nowlin]

yeah, I go, 9k ...... no chance 

#TeamShaff

[MacAttack53]

Point blank, I wouldn't be the man I am today if it wasn't for Ron Shaffer. 

He taught me more about myself and more about life from the ages of 14-18 than anyone besides my own parents. He was tough on me, held me accountable, and never gave up on me as a player, or as a young man. He was tough on me--and he knew exactly what it would take and how far he could push me to make me the best player possible. He knows his players and he supports them both in the sport of football, but also outside the gridiron. He knew about my professional aspirations and gave me my first ever coaching job assisting him when I was still in high school. We've stayed in touch long into adulthood, and yeah, I do take this shot at Coach Shaffer personally, as I consider him a mentor and friend.

Talking scheme and his coaching acumen...his offense led Maconaquah to their best season in a decade in 2004. His offense produced multiple conference and postseason championships at Cass. His offense took Rochester from an 0-10 team in the TRC, which you described as having several cupcakes to a team that was a perennial conference contender and eventual champion. Maybe he never beat Valley--which I can understand from a rivalry perspective how large that game looms--but a few plays and bounces here and there and Rochester probably gets one of those under his tutelage. No moral victories, but he's taken Rochester from a program that "was" good, to a program that "is" good. 

It's pretty easy to armchair quarterback decisions and playcalls from the stands, but unless you've done it at the level Shaff has, you need to sit this one out. Plymouth is in a similar spot that Rochester was when he took over. Knowing kids that have had the opportunity to play for Shaff, yeah he's tough and he absolutely has high expectations, which is why roster size is a bad metric of his ability. Those kids that are "hangers on" in lesser programs just won't make it on his teams. It's not because he runs them off--it's because the standard is the standard. Kids today don't want or appreciate that level of accountability. We saw it at Maconaquah. After a coaching change following 2004, a new coach came in with a much more "relaxed" and "less accountable" style that allowed more guys to stay on the team that otherwise would have not been a part of the program. Guess what happened to the culture and eventually the W/L record. Maconaquah would have been LUCKY to have him there for a second run in that program...but if you know what's going on inside Maconaquah football right now, then you know exactly why that didn't come to fruition. It's a shame for this generation of Braves, the same way it was a shame that he wasn't given the chance in 2005.

If anyone can help Plymouth get back to being competitive, it's him. He knows what he's getting himself into. Rochester should do nothing more than thank him for what he did for the program and for the young men there during his tenure. Rochester is fortunate that Ike is taking over the reins, as he's had the chance to learn from one of the best there is in this area of the state. 

Edited May 19 by MacAttack53

[Muda69]

46 minutes ago, MacAttack53 said:

...but if you know what's going on inside Maconaquah football right now, then you know exactly why that didn't come to fruition. It's a shame for this generation of Braves, the same way it was a shame that he wasn't given the chance in 2005.

 

Inquiring Maconaquah alumni minds want to know more.....................

 

[First_Backer_Inside]

27 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

Inquiring Maconaquah alumni minds want to know more.....................

 

1. Running the ball is boring.

2. Running the ball keeps an assistant coaches son from breaking records.

3. Need a young head coach that will keep a certain assistant coach on staff. 

4. Need a young coach that will let assistant coach do as he pleases on offense and just keep the other team from scoring too much. (New hire was previously a D-Coordinator)

5. Winning doesn't matter, records do.

6. Setting a high standard and holding kids to it sounds good on paper until things get difficult. Then we should allow athletes to give up.

7. Coaches should be the athletes friends, enforcing discipline is a no-no.

[Muda69]

16 hours ago, First_Backer_Inside said:

1. Running the ball is boring.

2. Running the ball keeps an assistant coaches son from breaking records.

3. Need a young head coach that will keep a certain assistant coach on staff. 

4. Need a young coach that will let assistant coach do as he pleases on offense and just keep the other team from scoring too much. (New hire was previously a D-Coordinator)

5. Winning doesn't matter, records do.

6. Setting a high standard and holding kids to it sounds good on paper until things get difficult. Then we should allow athletes to give up.

7. Coaches should be the athletes friends, enforcing discipline is a no-no.

Thank you.  Sounds like a recipe for disaster. Maconaquah's short period of football success looks to be over, and greed is to blame. 

[First_Backer_Inside]

14 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

Thank you.  Sounds like a recipe for disaster. Maconaquah's short period of football success looks to be over, and greed is to blame. 

I hope it is not. Maconaquah being good makes the TRC good. The conference showdown between Mac and Rochester at the end of the last two years has been really cool to be apart of. Hopefully things are different with this new coach, but he fits the mold of what they have had the last couple of years. A young guy who comes in for 2-3 years, and then looks for greener pastures.

[Muda69]

4 hours ago, First_Backer_Inside said:

I hope it is not. Maconaquah being good makes the TRC good. The conference showdown between Mac and Rochester at the end of the last two years has been really cool to be apart of. Hopefully things are different with this new coach, but he fits the mold of what they have had the last couple of years. A young guy who comes in for 2-3 years, and then looks for greener pastures.

So this "certain assistant coach" is pretty much the head coach. Or is this assistant coach gone once his son graduates?

[RockiePride4L]

What’s next for Plymouth Rockies? 2 Days before the end of the school year with summer practices coming soon, Plymouth Head Coach resigns. Will he return back to Rochester? Who will step up in Plymouth?

[First_Backer_Inside]

18 hours ago, Muda69 said:

So this "certain assistant coach" is pretty much the head coach. Or is this assistant coach gone once his son graduates?

I would think he is done after his son graduates but unsure. From an outside view on things I would say he runs things how he wants and has a lot of say for an assistant coach.