Winless Monroe looking for a new football coach

Published 11:39 pm Tuesday, November 20, 2007

The Monroe High School football team lost all its games this season. Now the Bearcats have lost their head coach too.

Steve Hannan, Monroe’s coach the past three years, was told Friday his coaching contract would not be renewed, Monroe School District spokeswoman Rosemary O’Neil said Tuesday.

After making progress by winning a total of nine games over the previous two seasons, Monroe was 0-10 in 2007. The Bearcats, who endured several injuries to key players, were outscored 314-78. Five opponents held Monroe scoreless, but the Bearcats eventually bounced back a bit and scored a total of 61 points in their final three games.

In three seasons under Hannan, Monroe was 9-21, including a 5-5 record in 2006. In 2004, a year before he took over, the Bearcats went 1-9, and the program didn’t win a game from 2001 to 2002.

The main reason for not offering Hannan a new contract was dwindling participation numbers, said O’Neil.

“We looked at the program over the past few years and wanted to make a change in direction,” she said.

Hannan could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Monroe High athletic director Brett Wille said Tuesday district officials asked him to not discuss the matter.

O’Neil said she did not have Monroe’s football participation numbers for the past three seasons. But she said that this fall, for the first time in recent memory, Monroe cancelled the second half of its junior varsity schedule due to low student-athlete participation.

The 2007 Monroe football roster dated Sept. 26 listed 51 players, 17 less than in 2006. Forty-six names were on the 2005 roster.

“We don’t know (why). There could be a whole host of reasons,” for the decrease in players said O’Neil, adding that the district hopes a change in leadership will help the program.

District coaching contracts are offered on a one-year basis, O’Neil said, which means the status of Monroe’s assistant coaches is unclear. Monroe’s next head coach will help pick assistants for the 2008 season.

The district will immediately begin its search for a new head coach but there is no specific target date for filling position, O’Neil said.

Not long ago the future looked bright for Hannan.

A little more than two years ago an improved Monroe squad played for the first time in its then-new $3.4 million stadium. A few days before the game, Hannan told The Herald about the community excitement that surged in his first season.

“The town of Monroe right now is just on fire with high school football,” Hannan said. “It’s just been amazing. I can’t go to Fred Meyer, I can’t go to the gas station, I can’t go anywhere without someone saying, ‘Hey coach, you’re doing a great job. Go get ‘em.’”

The same week, former Monroe athletic director assessed the football program.

“I’ve been extremely happy with the character of our team this year,” Ishler said. “The amount of work they’ve put in — that includes the coaching staff and the parents — they’ve all demonstrated great character and sportsmanship.”

Contact Herald Writer Mike Cane at mcane@heraldnet.com. For more high school sports news, check out the prep sports blog Double Team at cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet/doubleteam.