Jerry North, right, head coach of Poughkeepsie High School’s football team, gathers the team together for their bike ride back to the school.
On Monday, it was announced that Poughkeepsie High School head football coach Jerry North will not be returning to lead the Pioneers.
On Tuesday, interim athletic director Bob Murphy explained that North originally intended to return, but plans changed.
“We had spoken to him a week and a half ago and, as far as we knew, he was all set (to return),” Murphy said. “But he’s got a business and other things out there. He’s busy. Something must’ve come up and those things changed.”
North runs NorthStar Sports, an athletic training facility in Poughkeepsie.
Poughkeepsie is already in the process of searching for a new head coach, Murphy added. The school is hoping to find a replacement soon.
Dante Jackson, left, and Corey Simmons, right, both juniors at Poughkeepsie High School, line up in the Town of Poughkeepsie during preseason practice on Monday.
“We’re going to kind of open it up,” Murphy said. “The interview process is already happening, and if in fact we find a person who’s a good fit, we’ll go with him. We’re going to be diligently searching for someone capable and we’ll go from there once we do.”
Poughkeepsie’s next coach will be its fourth in five years.
Last year was North’s first season at the helm of the Pioneers, and he led the team to a 4-5 record. Poughkeepsie’s four wins matched its total from the previous two seasons combined. One of Poughkeepsie’s losses was due to a forfeit for punishment for a team brawl.
John Castellano coached the team in 2013 and 2014 before taking Westlake’s job last season. Castellano had replaced Ken Barger, who stopped coaching the team after seven seasons, after he was fired by the Poughkeepsie City School District when a hearing officer assigned by the state education department ruled that Barger, a special education teacher at the time, helped students cheat on a Regents exam.
A.J. Martelli: amartelli@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-437-4836, Twitter: @AJM_PoJoSports