Crestline's Jonny King resigns as football coach, remains as athletic director
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CRESTLINE — It was arguably the toughest decision Jonny King has ever made, but he knew it was the right one.
Thursday afternoon King announced his resignation as Crestline football coach after three years leading the program. He became the school's athletic director last summer following the departure of Greg Travis, and King knew it would be a challenge balancing both positions.
"My approach was to try and get through this season then evaluate how things were going and whether it was a manageable thing to do," he said. "I didn't want to put too much of a strain on either portion of the job or my personal life and family. Nothing was made up prior to the season, but by midseason where there were weeks where it was a challenge for me to get out to practice some days at all and the reality of my availability during practice time, then post practice time, preparation throughout the week.
"It was becoming apparent that in order to do the job I expect of myself, it wasn't going to be feasible in a long-term situation."
Slowly, but surely, the decision made itself.
"My coaches did an amazing job this year stepping up and filling in for anything that needed to get done," King said. "I have really high expectations for everything I'm involved in and everything I put my name on. This fall I wasn't able to do much of anything well because of how thin everything was spread."
But that didn't make it any easier on King, who was still emotional just talking about it after announcing his decision.
"I knew coming out of the season this was the decision that needed to be made," King said. "I've held off making the announcement for a few different reasons, but part of it was me wrapping my head around it. This has been a dream of mine since I was very young, and the way life is you just never know what opportunities are going to come back around."
To make things even more difficult, King said he felt he was contributing to the biggest issue with sports at Crestline — instability.
"I get frustrated being a part of what makes it so difficult at Crestline with the turnover and the reset every few years — that's part of my frustration with this," he said. "I feel like I'm contributing to that cycle.
"The reality is we've done a lot of groundwork and foundational work these last few years and gotten things to a point where in the next three, four, five years that success can be realized. Numbers are improving at all levels, the quality of football is able to rise. We're at that pivotal crossroad right now, and that's a big reason why this has been such a difficult decision for me.
"But I'm hopeful we can bring someone in who shares a similar mindset and vision for things, and is able to bring fresh energy, time and commitment to the program and do what is needed to turn that corner and not miss another opportunity to see things legitimately improve and take that next step."
In three years under King the Bulldogs went 4-6, 1-7 and 0-9 for a 5-22 combined record. But wins and losses don't really show the impact he made on the program in that brief time.
"We've been through a lot of ups and downs, and put in a ton of work and a ton of hours just to try to give these guys in the community a chance to be successful," King said. "A lot of the work we did with the weight room, some of the facilities, equipment upgrades, that stuff is going to continue to benefit the program.
"My goal was to leave things better than what I came into, and I hope in the long run that will prove to be true."
The hunt for his replacement begins immediately, and King said he is optimistic he'll be able to find someone to slot right in and continue growing the program.
"I don't want to scare off any potential coaches to micromanage what they'll do. They're going to come in and put their own stamp on things," he said. "But I do have the unique opportunity to continue being involved and be supportive to have the say in the type of person that comes in next.
"Hopefully it's more of an extension and continuation of things as opposed to a complete shift in regime change."
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This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Jonny King steps down as Crestline football coach, remains AD
