After five years as the leader of the McLean Highlanders football team, head coach John Scholla stepped down on March 7 in an address to his players. The Highlanders will begin their first search for a new head coach since the 2017 regular season.
For Scholla, the decision to step down came from a personal standpoint.
“Priorities have changed,” Scholla said. “My wife and I have had a child, I’m looking at other educational possibilities. It’s the best decision for me and my family moving forward.”
As head coach, Scholla looked to have a personal impact on all of the players on the football team.
“He gave it his all,” sophomore starting quarterback Manoli Karageorgos said. “Towards the end, the thoughts of having a kid and having other worries probably distracted him a little bit and he probably wasn’t here all the way. He really cared, and he might have not shown that all the time, but I think everyone knew that he cared and wanted us to win football games.”
Scholla’s tenure as head coach started with back-to-back 0-10 seasons before finishing with a 5-5 and 4-3 record in the next two seasons. In his final season, McLean ended the season with a 3-7 record.
Despite Scholla’s incumbency starting slow, McLean’s administrators were willing to give him more time to right the ship.
“Any coach who takes on any job, you hope that you leave it a better place than you found it,” activities director Greg Miller said. “Our football program is in a much better place than it was five years ago when we hired [Scholla].”
For the entire coaching staff, backing from the administration was a huge part of their success.
“I feel like we had to tear it down to build it back up,” Scholla said. “To have the administration to support [my coaching staff] in that endeavor and stick with us, it really meant a lot.”
While any coach hopes to be known for their contributions on the field, Scholla also made an impact on students outside of the football field.
“The head football coach is a high visibility position at any school,” Miller said. “Not only do all of our football players know the football coach, but all of our students do. The relationships he built with not just football players, but a lot of athletes and a lot of students as a teacher has had a great impact on our student body.”
The former head coach will look for educational positions elsewhere, but he will leave behind a program with potential for success.
“We have a lot of our key players returning from last year’s team,” Miller said. “This is an attractive job for any coach. We’re going to find the best coach possible for our football program.”