Episcopal Academy football coach Gallagher resigns
When coaches of a certain age step away, the key word always starts with re.
When coaches of a certain age step away, the key word always starts with re.
What really matters is what comes next . . . signed or tired.
In Bill Gallagher's case, the word is resigned. Gallagher, 60, the football coach for the last 6 years at Episcopal Academy, and for 28 total at four schools, resigned Tuesday after posting a losing record for the second consecutive season.
"If you're a competitive person," said Gallagher, a product of Father Judge and Notre Dame, "you don't want to be remembered for going out with a 2-7 record. I'm going to take some time to think about things . . . but, yes, I could see myself coming back somewhere."
Gallagher's total record is 156-86-4, and 104-61-2 in the Inter-Ac portion of his stint. At Penn Charter, he was 77-30-2 with five championships (three outright) from 1981-91 and 1993-94, while his Episcopal mark was 27-31. He also guided Chestnut Hill Academy (at the time not an I-A grid member) from '73 through '80 and Springfield Montco in 2004.
"When we had a losing season last year, there were extenuating circumstances; we really got decimated by injuries," Gallagher said. "But then this year we struggled again and it makes you look at the whole picture.
"You can't get rid of the players or the parents or the administration. It starts and ends here. You can't help but think, 'I must be a big part of this equation. Maybe I shouldn't be the coach anymore.' "
On Oct. 29, before EA's game with Germantown Academy, Gallagher said he was asked by GA coach Luke Harris, "How many years have you been doing this, Bill?"
"I told him 'last,' " Gallagher said, laughing. "I'd been thinking about it and it just came out. So then I talked to the administration.
"When I left PC, the program was in great shape. Here we only have six juniors. But we do have a great group of sophomores and freshman, so it's not like I'm running away. The program is certainly going up."
