Siegel football coach Michael Copley steps down

Siegel is seeking a new football coach after Michael Copley resigned Monday after three years at the helm.

The Stars went 1-9 this season, with the lone win coming in the season finale, 45-27 over first-year program Rockvale.

Siegel Principal Larry Creasy said Copley "came in and offered his resignation" on Monday morning. Copley, who confirmed the resignation, informed his team early Monday afternoon.

"I told (Copley) today that I appreciated everything he's done for the program," Creasy said. "He did some really good things. We appreciate everything he's done and wish him well."

Siegel went a combined 8-22 overall and 5-14 in the region and failed to reach the playoffs in any of Copley's three seasons. The team went 4-6 in 2017 and 3-7 last year. The program had gone 9-24 combined in the three seasons before Copley arrived.

"When you really look at it, to be honest, there were so many positives, other than the winning side of it," Copley said. "To see the parents' support and all the things that took place to make these kids successful, I couldn't be more pleased with that. I just felt like it was time."

Copley was hired in January 2017 after former coach and current athletics director Greg Wyant stepped down.

Creasy said finding a new coach probably will take a couple of months or more.

"We'll start the search and reach out to some and try to find the best fit for Siegel High School," Creasy said. "It's not something I wanted to do. We were hoping Coach Copley would be here longer.

"We obviously won't do anything until the playoffs end. We're anticipating it to be sometime in January, like before. It could be later. There will be (head) coaches and coordinators we will want to talk to, but we won't reach out until they're finished."

Defense was an area of struggle for Siegel in 2019. The Stars allowed 35.2 points a contest while averaging 20.4 points offensively.

Copley previously had coached at Louisville's Ballard High School, where his team had a 9-4 record and state quarterfinal appearance in 2016, and was the defensive coordinator at Centennial from 2012-15.

He will continue teaching at Siegel, at least through the remainder of the school year.

"I'm staying on," Copley said. "I'll look for the right opportunity. But my family goes into that as well. They're tied to the community really well. I have to keep them in mind going forward."

Reach Cecil Joyce at cjoyce@dnj.com or 615-278-5168 and on Twitter @Cecil_Joyce.

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