Callahan resigns football position at Mount Anthony
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By Bob Fredette Staff Writer - Published: June 16, 2009
BENNINGTON — Mount Anthony Union High School has suffered a big loss months before the 2009 football season begins.
Patriots coach John Callahan has resigned to take a job at Trinity Christian School in Dublin, Ga., leaving the Patriots after back-to-back winning records in his two seasons there. Callahan will be head football coach and athletic director at Trinity Christian as he returns to his Southern roots.
In his time at MAU, Callahan turned the Division I Patriots around and guided them to consecutive 5-4 records. Prior to taking over at Mount Anthony, Callahan coached three years at Mount St. Joseph Academy in Rutland, where he needed only two to convert the Mounties into an option team and guide them to a title game victory over Hartford in 2005.
"John came in here and did an outstanding job to turn this program around. He brought years of experience, vast football knowledge and a calming factor with players and coaches, which in turn equated to instant credibility for our football program," said MAU Activities Director Tim Brown.
"Obviously, I am disappointed that John will not be returning to carry on the job he started. But this is a great opportunity for him to be closer to family and land a school administrative job that offers him more stability in these tough economic times."
"I hated leaving those kids because they're good kids and I think they'll have a good year," said Callahan. The Pats might have been on the verge of a big season with Callahan at the helm as 20 seniors will return to the roster this year.
"If I made the program better then that's good," Callahan said. "It got them where they need to be now and someone can come and take advantage of the situation. I like it to be better when I leave than when I took over."
The search for Callahan's replacement – the fifth head football coach at MAU in the past 14 years – will begin immediately.
"I plan to post the position and hope to attract a candidate to take over where John left off. We have a solid group of coaches returning, and at this point we're just looking for someone to come on board and captain the ship," Brown said.
Callahan returns to a region rich in football heritage. His last coaching position before moving to Massachusetts and then Vermont was in Morgan City, La.
He will benefit from a full-time position, something he has not had since leaving MSJ after the 2007 school year. He will also be charged with the task of getting another football program back on its feet.
"(Trinity Christian) has been a good program. They're down a little bit but they've had some good teams," Callahan said. "Overall they've had a good football history. I just think they had a situation last year when they had a very young team and a tough schedule.
"Not only am I looking forward to the football part but the administrative part. I'm good at that."
Callahan said he had attempted to find a football job in Georgia before.
"It's a state with a growing population and I thought there were a lot of positives. The south is very football-oriented year-round and that's something that I really like," he said.
Callahan believes the Patriots will do well next fall because of a lot of hard work and a positive attitude.
"Whoever comes in will find they have a good group of kids who want to achieve," he said.
"I very much enjoyed coaching in Vermont and there's a lot of good coaches, and being a small state it's a very tight group of coaches which I thought was very good."
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