Tom Kaufman shared his vision for St. Ignatius’ football program, which hired him Monday and introduced him Thursday.
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Presented with a No. 11 jersey Thursday afternoon at his introductory press conference as St. Ignatius’ new football coach, Tom Kaufman said it was chosen to reflect the 11 state championships won by the school.
“The 11 state championships are great, but that doesn’t give us the right to No. 12,” he said. “We have to earn the right to go get No. 12. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done between now and that No. 12, whenever that may come.”The school’s last OHSAA state crown came in 2011. Its most recent state finals appearance came in 2016 under longtime coach Chuck Kyle, who retired after his 40season in 2022. The school transitioned to one of Kyle’s trusted pupils in Ryan Franzinger, a former linebacker and fullback who went on to Ohio State before returning to the Wildcats. However, they finished 1-10 in each of the last two seasons. It prompted a change in direction, with St. IgnatiusThe search committee consisted of about five people, athletic director Rory Fitzpatrick said. They reached their conclusion early last week, he added, beforetheir decision to go with Kaufman, who also will serve as an assistant athletic director. The new coach’s background is an extensive one. He spent this year as the head coach at Marietta College after leading Gilmour Academy to a record run and 12-2 season in 2024. Kaufman, a Lake Catholic graduate, played college football as a linebacker at John Carroll University through 2002. He quickly got into coaching with numerous stops that included Texas, Bowling Green, Syracuse and Kent State. He became Gilmour’s coach in 2023. It was Kaufman’s first high school head coaching job after spending his career in the college ranks. “He has a very clear idea of what he wants from St. Ignatius football on offense, defense and special teams,” Fitzpatrick said. “I can’t wait to see what he does with our young men. I stood there at noon as he introduced himself to the team, and you could feel the energy in the room.” The Wildcats are slated to return a couple of college prospects, including receiver Trey Haddad and linebacker James Conrad. Sophomore Jacob Mikin earned time at quarterback, a position that saw several changes because of injuries, which decimated St. Ignatius’ hopes against a challenging schedule. Five of the Wildcats’ 10 regular-season opponents finished with double-digit victories. Nine of their 11 total opponents, including first-round foe Perrysburg, won at least eight games. “We’re going to measure our program with wins because they keep score,” Kaufman said, “but we’re going to measure it more importantly by, are we producing young men of character that are better football players and better human beings than when they first stepped on campus?” Kaufman said he has some staff members in mind, both from his previous coaching stops and with those who are already established at St. Ignatius. He said he has met with some coaches from Franzinger’s staff and intends to meet with everyone. “I want to give those guys all an opportunity to at least meet with them,” he said, “but the reality is, there’s some guys that I’ve worked with in the past that I trust.” Kaufman said he did not want to name any assistants yet until they are finalized by the school. He did share his plans for how the offense and defense will look. “We’re going to base out of 11 personnel, but we’ll be very multiple with our personnel groups,” he said. “We’re going to value running the football because that controls the game. Obviously, we’ll have a robust RPO game. Defensively, we’ll base out of a 4-2-5.”His family, which includes his wife, Stephanie, and sons, Jack and Max, is just beginning the transition to Cleveland. They plan to start house hunting Monday while commuting from Marietta. As for St. Ignatius’ search, Kaufman said a committee member reached out to him about the job before he interviewed. “When St. Ignatius calls, you answer the phone,” Kaufman said. “It became evident very early on that this was the right move for my family. We’re committed to being here for a very long time.”Matt Goul has covered high school sports with some college and pros sprinkled in since 2005 with a bachelor's degree from Kent State University. He has covered high school basketball and football in Northeast...
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