The dean of football coaches in the Shreveport-Bossier City area has stepped down after 16 years at Benton. Mitch Downey resigned to take an administrative position at the Butler Educational Center, a public school for grades seventh through 12th in Bossier City.
"I've been fortunate to do this for a long time and I would like to think I had a talent for it," Downey said told the Shreveport Times. "It's nice to be able to go out on a high note. I wanted to go out on top and not carried out on a shield."
Over the past two seasons, Benton has put together a regular-season record of 19-1. After trying for the District 1-4A title in its first year in Class 4A in 2007, Benton reached the state semifinals before losing to eventual champion Bastrop.
Benton won the district crown outright in 2008 and advanced to the second round of the playoffs.
"This is the hardest thing I've had to do since I got married," said Downey, who cited family considerations as one of the major reasons for making the move. "I've had a wonderful ride and this was a very, very, very difficult decision. It wasn't without a lot of discussion with my family."
Downey ended his head coaching career with a record of 141-50. His best season came in 1999 when Benton finished 13-1 and reached the Class 3A semifinals. With Benton due to participate in the Bossier Parish Jamboree in less than three weeks, the Tigers will be forced to make a quick hire.
“I don't want our kids to lose that cohesive feeling, not miss a beat,” Benton principal Vickey Thrash said. “I don't think they will because Coach Downey left them in great hands."
Winding journey leads Johnny Nagle back to his roots
Veteran college assistant coach Johnny Nagle has returned to the prep ranks after nearly a 30-year absence. Nagle, 59, will coach linebackers and special teams for Zachary in preparation for the upcoming season.
First-year coach Neil Weiner has assembled a staff that includes long-time Baton Rouge Catholic assistant Gerry Garidel and veteran Dutchtown assistant Chris Carrier. Both Nagle and Carrier are former LSU defensive backs, with Nagle having played opposite All-America Tommy Casanova from 1969-71.
“I knew I always wanted to come back to Baton Rouge some day,” said Nagle, whose newest job puts him several miles from the Capital City limits. “I wasn’t sure what I’d wind up doing."
Nagle spent the last seven years as an assistant coach at Northwestern Staste in Natchitoches. Prior to that, he coached 13 years at McNeese State in Lake Chatles, five years at Texas State and five years at Nicholls State in in Thibodaux.
Nagle began his coaching career at Central High School from 1975-79 and looked to return there but said a teaching position wasn’t available.
“Johnny has always been a Baton Rouge guy,” said Baton Rouge Parkview Baptist coach Kenny Guillot, who coached with Nagle at Nicholls and McNeese. “So I wasn’t surprised at all when he moved back here. “He’ll be great for Zachary. Johnny’s got a lot of experience, and he’s also got a good defensive mind.”
“The kids love him,” Weiner said. “He’s going to be a big part of what we do, working with our linebackers and special teams.”
Nagle is sharing an apartment with his son, Slade, who is an administrative intern at LSU after having been a quarterback at Lake Charles Barbe and then with Clemson and McNeese.
“Football is football, and some of things remain the same,” the elder Nagle said. “But on the high school level, the kids work so hard. They’re learning the game. The college players are older, and sometimes they’ll tune you out as a coach.
“That’s why you do need to choose your words carefully with high school players. They’re listening and hanging on every word. I try to remember that.”
Volleyball: Two-time champ Covington Northlake Christian fires coach
Despite having won the past two Division V state championships, Northlake Christian cited philosophical differences in firing Coach Michelle Anderson.
Principal Monty Fontenot said the program must “move in a different direction” but didn’t elaborate. "I had a very enjoyable time at Northlake Christian, and I had promised the girls I would not leave them,” said Anderson, 47, who coached Northlake Christian for five years.
“I definitely didn't see this coming." Assistant coach Jimmy Miranda, whose daughter, Hannah, is a two-time All-State setter, will remain with the program, Northlake Christian Athletic Director Tony Agresta said.
Because the elder Miranda is a non-faculty coach, he is ineligible to become head coach. Anderson finished with a record of 112-34 and a state runner-up finish in 2005. Anderson also coached the school’s softball team.
A veteran coach at River Ridge John Curtis and in Crestview, Fla., Anderson said she plans to coach again. She has a career record of 593-208.
Long-time Terrebonne coach to step down after season
Veteran Terrebonne Parish volleyball coach Chip Didier plans to step down under his own volition at the end of the coming season.
Didier has never had a losing season in 22 years of coaching within the parish. He won state championships at H.L. Bourgeois in 1987 and 1989 and finished second at H.L. Bourgeois in 1992 and Soputh Terrebonne in 1984. He has coached at Terrebonne High since 1998.
“I think it’s time to step aside and do some other things I like to do and let the younger coaches take over,” Didier, 56, told the Houma Courier. “The one thing I’m really going to regret and miss the most is the players. I’m going to miss the young ladies that have worked so hard and helped make our team such a success over the years.”
Didier is a four-time state coach of the year and has reached the playoffs in every year but one. He also coached at Nicholls State in Thibodaux and owns the highest winning percentage (.452) in school history.
Terrebonne returns four starters from a 33-7 team that advanced to the Division I regionals last year. Didier said it is the best team he’s had at the school.
