Triad High School head football coach Joe Cardinal, right, gives instructions to his team during a 2018 game. Cardinal has stepped down as the coach after three seasons.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
The search is on for a new head football coach at Triad High School.
The position became vacant with Joe Cardinal’s recent resignation after three seasons at the helm.
The team went through some growing pains during the first two campaigns, posting back-to-back 1-9 finishes.
The Cardinals rebounded in 2018, however, with a 5-5 mark.
“Joe did a great job of building our football numbers,” said athletic director Gary Davis. “He is going to be a great loss as our head football coach.”
Cardinal, a native of the Youngstown area, told the Journal-Tribune he is looking to move back to the northeastern portion of the state.
“I will also be looking into positions in that area that will be the best fit for me,” he said. “I don’t have anything right now, but I stepped down now to give Triad time to hire a new head coach in order that the program won’t miss a beat.”
Although the first couple of years were difficult, Cardinal, who is a history teacher at the school, said he is proud of what was accomplished.
“The summer of my first season (2016), we had 22 guys at practice,” he said. “We had 42 on the team last fall.
“I think we got the program on a solid foundation.
“I really enjoyed my time as the head coach,” said Cardinal. “There are great kids and people at Triad.”
Davis said he has already received 15-17 applications for the position. He hopes to begin interviews “the earlier, the better” in March.
“We want to hire a new head coach as soon as possible,” he said.
The athletic director said that approximately half of the early applicants have either previous or current head coaching experience.
“That is certainly a plus,” said Davis. “We want an experienced coach who wants to build a solid football program in a small school atmosphere.”
Davis said there could be some teaching positions open at the high school or middle school for the 2019-2020 academic year.
“It’s always desirable to have your football coach in the building,” he said. “We’re anticipating some openings, but nothing is concrete at this time.”
Davis was asked what he feels makes the Triad gridiron program attractive to potential coaches.
“I think it’s our kids,” he said. “They are loyal and very hard-working.”
While the football position is the “marquee” job that is currently open at Triad, Davis is also still trying to fill another fall sports job in volleyball.
“I’ve reached out to a couple of people, but we’re still looking,” he said. “It seems as though filling our volleyball position is never-ending.
“We haven’t had bountiful interest in the job, but we’ll get it filled at some point.”