Glenwood HC David Hay to retire.....
- Thread starter Edgytim
- Start date
All.... Been waiting on this. My vote (like it matters
) would be Coach Stapleton! Currently running backs and kickers coach for the Titans. Played for Griffin 
and knows his trade. Need I say more. Ratsy
) would be Coach Stapleton! Currently running backs and kickers coach for the Titans. Played for Griffin and knows his trade. Need I say more. Ratsyhe'd be a good candidate, but his main job is with scso. plus he goes to watch his son play college fb. i don't know if he'd have the time. net-se.All.... Been waiting on this. My vote (like it matters
A good run by Coach Hay, 79-27 over his tenure and in the playoffs every year (minus the COVID short season).
All.... I forgot about that. I assume Brian's son is still playing at wo. Had great hands in high school. Ratsy
All.... Off topic a bit rocketnation as we have discussed the Titans lose those 38 seniors to graduation. Now with a new HC coming in although I agree with Edgy Iikely in house 2026 might be an" interesting" season. Ratsy
All.... The rumor mill by the way in the area is at full bore.... Ratsy
Indeed it is...I was just called by a GC co-worker who "heard" from a "reputable source" that Ken Leonard is coming out of retirement to take the helm and is bringing his son to be the OC. Last I checked there weren't any cannabis dispensaries in Chatham, but there is one right up Rt. 4 by Meijer. I suspect that place is the culprit for these delusions.
This is the second major coaching vacancy at Glenwood. Not football related but heard a rumor that the volleyball coach wont be back next year...that comes as a bit of a shock.
All.... The 1450 interview with Coach Hay. I listened to an interview last night on the local sports radio show with Coach Hay done by Coach Rourke and Jim Ruppert. Also the Morning Huddle with Darin Prichett this morning. Good interviews all the way around.
The elephant in the room though that for the most part went unspoken was being in class 6A and what that meant. The southern bracket of 16 in postseason and eventually having to play the Flyers. It looked like early in 2025 with the new Ihsa change in enrollment classificationt the Titans had a chance to end up in 5A but it did not happen. I can't see enrollment falling enough in Chatham for that to happen. I'm very interested to see if there is a slight decline in 2026 when the numbers come out. In the 1450 clip Coach stated during the season he had decided to retire. It really sounds like he was ready. How much played into his decision knowing his two best squads the 19 and 25 teams couldn't stop Estl was also a contributing factor is unknown. Ratsy
Glenwood's Coach Hay Talks Retirement From Football | Channel 1450
The elephant in the room though that for the most part went unspoken was being in class 6A and what that meant. The southern bracket of 16 in postseason and eventually having to play the Flyers. It looked like early in 2025 with the new Ihsa change in enrollment classificationt the Titans had a chance to end up in 5A but it did not happen. I can't see enrollment falling enough in Chatham for that to happen. I'm very interested to see if there is a slight decline in 2026 when the numbers come out. In the 1450 clip Coach stated during the season he had decided to retire. It really sounds like he was ready. How much played into his decision knowing his two best squads the 19 and 25 teams couldn't stop Estl was also a contributing factor is unknown. Ratsy
Glenwood's Coach Hay Talks Retirement From Football | Channel 1450
Good guy but nope!~All.... Been waiting on this. My vote (like it matters
With all the things the Hay's have gone through and having sons in school, Dave has his priorities in line to see his sons do their things. Many coaches, having kids in college, stop coaching to enjoy some of their kids college days. Dave was a great competitor as a player at Kincaid and he was a great competitor as a coach! As far as EStL... Im sure Dave see's it like this: If you can't beat EStL then you most likely aren't good enough to win a championship!
Any ideas of potential candidates Chatham is looking at? I ask because within the conference I think there’s several really good candidates that may be looking to make a move. Chatham is great community, with large number of student athletes. It would make it a very appealing job to most people I think.
One in particular that I think is a good candidate, is the Rochester defensive coordinator.. He has head coaching experience and did pretty well, I think at Lanphier all things considered. I don’t know if it was his coaching or someone else’s, but I felt his defense played a lot better especially the defensive secondary this year.
One in particular that I think is a good candidate, is the Rochester defensive coordinator.. He has head coaching experience and did pretty well, I think at Lanphier all things considered. I don’t know if it was his coaching or someone else’s, but I felt his defense played a lot better especially the defensive secondary this year.
Have no inside info but believe the choice will most likely come from:
1--Inside the Titan program, as when Coach Hay was promoted when Dan Rourke retired.
2--Outside the conference.
3--From another program in the CS8. Think this becomes likely only if there is no significant in-house interest.
The Board met December 17th and would think we'd have heard by now if they had approved the new head coach.
Next scheduled meeting is January 28th.
The last I knew, being in Alabama, was he was still with ISP but I'm not in contact with him nor Brian S so...
any more movement on this? Seems like a awfully long time for a top tier program to be without a coach. Does anyone know if they are continuing their off season lifting etc?
Next board meeting is February 26th. I'd expect an announcement shortly before the meeting.
All.... And February 17 for D186. Hopefully both of the HC positions get filled in a timely matter. The good thing is both Coach Hay and Coach Hebb are on record at their respective schools everyday having said the offseason work is up and running as usual with no interruption. Ratsy
The word around town is James Dambacher is the guy taking the reigns at Glenwood.
Dambacher played at Auburn HS and then at IC. He was also on staff at IC for a while. He's coached at Auburn as an assistant (multiple stints) and had 2 years as HC in New Berlin, including a 7-3 season.
Dambacher played at Auburn HS and then at IC. He was also on staff at IC for a while. He's coached at Auburn as an assistant (multiple stints) and had 2 years as HC in New Berlin, including a 7-3 season.
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Early and unconfirmed reports that there were a few departures. No clue on who or how many.
Hmmmmm... May be out of desperation to make such a selection.
All.... As expected Coach Quarton will be the new Springfield High head coach. Ratsy
Quarton Takes Over Springfield High Football's Head Coach Spot | Channel 1450
Quarton Takes Over Springfield High Football's Head Coach Spot | Channel 1450
also some big questions on who's staying on staff at shs.
Both hirings now official. Will be interesting g to see the staff.
Would seem like quite a step up in competition, although I know the Sangamo is, at the very least, very internally competitive.
Anybody have insight into what to expect out of the new Glenwood and SHS head coaches?
Would seem like quite a step up in competition, although I know the Sangamo is, at the very least, very internally competitive.
Anybody have insight into what to expect out of the new Glenwood and SHS head coaches?
Can't claim any special insight into either of the new coaches but both have an initial challenge of having to replace very productive 3-year starting QB's.
Chatham will have almost a complete new starting Offense/Defense, while Springfield loses Brody Scheffler, Thurman, and Newman but does return some important players.
Also curious to see how much turnover each program has among the existing assistant staff.
Chatham will have almost a complete new starting Offense/Defense, while Springfield loses Brody Scheffler, Thurman, and Newman but does return some important players.
Also curious to see how much turnover each program has among the existing assistant staff.
All.... If what we hear in the wind rocketnation is correct
interesting changes are coming. 
Ratsy
It was painful listening to James Dambacher to articulate a sentence... Changing things at Glenwood means changing every level of football which this coach seems to want to accomplish. That being said... "If it aint broke don't fix it!" The RPO, in my opinion is trash and good running teams can control RPO teams (Cary Grove, etc.) so if he's going to do what I would do it will take time but the payout is worth the initial @$$ pain!
Im guessing this is just a football position since David Hay is still teaching... I'm also thinking that no teaching position limited the selection pool greatly! To me, and I have been wrong before, this hire doesn't make sense if a teaching position was open. I can see many area coaches wanting to jump to Chatham had there been an opening. Could you see Knox from Athens and the Wing-T?!!! Or how about Eric and the Wing-T from Olympia?!!!
It will be interesting to see how it pans out!
On a side note: Yes, had I still lived in Illinois AND being retired, I would've applied for the position. Having coached there and lived there would've been a bonus and I would not have taken any pay! I never wanted money for coaching and when I was paid I just signed the check to the schools because I coach for the love of the game!~ I would've ran the Power I and some Wishbone!~
Im guessing this is just a football position since David Hay is still teaching... I'm also thinking that no teaching position limited the selection pool greatly! To me, and I have been wrong before, this hire doesn't make sense if a teaching position was open. I can see many area coaches wanting to jump to Chatham had there been an opening. Could you see Knox from Athens and the Wing-T?!!! Or how about Eric and the Wing-T from Olympia?!!!
It will be interesting to see how it pans out!
On a side note: Yes, had I still lived in Illinois AND being retired, I would've applied for the position. Having coached there and lived there would've been a bonus and I would not have taken any pay! I never wanted money for coaching and when I was paid I just signed the check to the schools because I coach for the love of the game!~ I would've ran the Power I and some Wishbone!~
All.... The video with new Chatham HC James Dambacher () Ratsy
Dambacher Named Glenwood Head Football Coach | Channel 1450
) RatsyDambacher Named Glenwood Head Football Coach | Channel 1450