MADISON TOWNSHIP — Brent Besancon has a history of reviving dormant football programs and the 25-year coaching veteran will be asked to work his magic again.
Besancon will become Madison’s third head coach in as many seasons, pending school board approval. He will succeed Scott Valentine, who resigned in January and has been recommended for board approval to become Ashland’s coach.
Valentine took over for Dave Stupka, who stepped down following the 2021 season after four seasons.
Besancon graduated from Smithville and was a longtime member of Wayne County coaching icon Keith Schrock’s coaching staff at his alma mater, helping the Smithies to a state runner-up finish in 2002.
He began his head coaching career at New London in 2007, leading the Wildcats to an 11-9 record in two seasons. He left New London for Rittman and revitalized that program before taking over for Schrock at Smithville in 2012.
He led the Smithies for six seasons and was the Wayne County Athletic League’s Coach of the Year in 2015 after guiding Smithville to the second round of the Division VI, Region 19 playoffs.
Most recently, Besancon was an assistant to Doug Haas at Wooster. The Generals won Ohio Cardinal Conference titles in 2019 and 2020.
“I’m really looking forward to the opportunity,” said Besancon, who owns a dairy farm in Wayne County. “Madison is in a unique situation because of all the turnover. There hasn’t been a lot of stability, so I want to bring some stability.
“You have to establish trust with the kids, so I have to build those relationships. I can ask them to work hard, but it won’t happen until I’ve earned their trust.”
The six-person Madison search committee was impressed with Besancon’s ability to reinvigorate programs.
“What stood out to the committee was his ability to turn around struggling programs,” Madison athletic director Doug Rickert said. “At New London he had the best Firelands Conference record in 12 years and the only winning season in 13 years.
“At Rittman he claimed their first five-win season in five years and increased their roster by 20 boys. He expanded their football program to include seventh-grade and freshman teams.”
Besancon can’t wait to get to work. He will meet with the team after he is approved by the school board.
“We would like to start getting things turned around this fall,” Besancon said. “That is the plan.”
