Jesuit coach leaves

By KEITH NIEBUHR
Published April 28, 2005

TAMPA - Bill Schmitz, who coached Jesuit for two seasons, has stepped down and will leave the school to pursue other options, according to a release

posted Wednesday on the school's Web site. Defensive backs coach Joseph Ross will replace Schmitz.

Neither Schmitz nor Ross could be reached.

Schmitz went 14-7 with the Tigers, leading them to a 9-3 finish last fall and a spot in the Class 3A quarterfinals. In his first season, Jesuit failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1993.

"We appreciate the excellent job that Bill has done for Jesuit both on the playing field and in the classroom," principal Joseph Sabin said in the release.

Schmitz came to Jesuit with an extensive background. He had coached at Division I-AA Austin Peay State and boasted 23 years experience with assistant stints at Columbia, Cincinnati, Rice, Vanderbilt and Eastern Michigan. But his hiring wasn't without some complaints after he was chosen over popular assistant Bob Weiner, now the coach at Plant.

"I certainly understood the emotions," Schmitz told the Times last fall. "Many players and a lot of their parents were strongly in favor of the assistant being given the position. That happens. All I could do was just come in and work."

Ross, a University of Connecticut graduate, has been part of the Jesuit coaching staff since 1986. He was a seasonal assistant in strength and conditioning for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the duration of Tony Dungy's coaching tenure, the release said.

[Last modified April 28, 2005, 01:19:11]