LEXINGTON — His head coaching career is on hold for now, but Lexington’s Dan Studer isn’t going anywhere.
After two seasons and a 6-14 record, Studer handed in his resignation last week. He will still teach physical education at the high school and said he would like to continue coordinating Lexington’s strength and conditioning program.
“As long as the next coach will have me,” Studer said Monday afternoon.
“Being the head coach at Lexington was a goal of mine. I wanted it for a long time and I am thankful for the opportunity,” Studer said. “Everyone was very supportive but, to be quite frank, I didn’t like the management side of being a head coach.
“I knew that was a large part of the job. I thought I handled it well, but it took away from the part of the job I love, which is working with the kids.”
Athletic director Joe Roberts respects Studer’s decision.
“He realized there was a lot more involved to being head coach than just working with the kids,” Roberts said. “To his credit, he recognized that he wasn’t completely happy as the head coach.
“He wants to coach football and run the strength and conditioning program.”
A Massillon Washington graduate and one of the main figures in Kenneth Carlson’s 2001 documentary, “Go Tigers!” Studer arrived at Lexington in 2006. He helped the Minutemen reach the playoffs in 2007 before spending one season as an assistant at Madison. He returned to Lex in 2009 and took over for fellow Massillon product B.J. Payne following Payne’s resignation after the 2011 season.
The Minutemen were 5-5 under Studer in 2012. Four of Lexington’s five losses that season came to playoff teams (Olentangy, Madison, West Holmes, Mansfield Senior) and the fifth came against tradition-rich Ashland.
“There was a play here or a play there and we could have won some of those game,” Studer said. “By the time we got to the end of the season against Mansfield Senior and Ashland, we were beat up. We had a bunch of kids who had played a lot of football and it took its toll.”
The Minutemen were in a rebuilding mode in 2013 after graduating a talented senior class. The Minutemen, who had just 11 seniors on the roster, were 1-9 and lost their final eight games.
“We were playing a bunch of young kids because we had to,” Studer said. “We had a lot of freshmen on the field and they took their lumps, but they are going to be good.”
Roberts said there is no firm time table for selecting Studer’s replacement.
“We will post the job internally until Wednesday,” he said. “Hopefully we will have a candidate to recommend at the January school board meeting.
“Time is of the essence, but it’s not like the season starts in two weeks. We want to find the right person for the job.”
Whoever lands the position won’t have to look far for an assistant. Studer already is overseeing the offseason program.
“The kids aren’t going to miss a beat,” he said. “The next coach will know exactly who has been working hard in the weight room.
“The kids know that I’m not going anywhere. At the end of the day, I’m trading the part of the job that I don’t love for the part that I love and that is working with kids.”
Follow Curt Conrad on Twitter @curtjconrad.