Football: Cody Muller steps down as Pennridge head coach

After four seasons, including a trip to the PIAA District One Class 6A championship game, Cody Muller has stepped down as head football coach at Pennridge.

"I told the team today," said Muller, 31, a 2009 Souderton graduate. "I texted my wife before the meeting and she asked me if I would start to cry when I told them and I said I wouldn't.

"But, sure as heck, I got a couple of words in and started tearing up a bit. I love this community and these kids and the kids that came before them. It's not easy leaving, but the kids understood. I can't wait to watch them and I'll be their biggest fans."

Muller, who teaches Social Studies at Pennridge, is moving to Arlington, Tex. where he will teach and coach the defensive line at James Martin High School, the same school that produced NFL standout Myles Garrett.

"It has always been a dream of mine to coach down south and my wife always wanted to live down south," said Muller, whose teams went 23-20 in his four seasons and 15-6 the past two years.

"I have family in that city in Texas and it was kind of the perfect storm. The head coach at the high school has given me a great opportunity to coach and I'll also be teaching. It was just the best move to make for myself and my family."

Pennridge will begin an immediate search for Muller's replacement.

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"We will post the position tomorrow (Friday) and start the interview process after we go through the applications," Pennridge Athletic Director Scott Hegen said. "We have a school board meeting on June 13 and would like to have a candidate by then."

Given the family considerations, Hegen was not shocked when Muller told him he was stepping down.

"I was on the hiring committee four years ago when we brought in Cody and we knew he had inspirations to go bigger," Hegen said.

"I hoped he'd be here for 30 years because he totally changed the culture of our building through the lens of football. When your football team is doing well there's a better feel in the building and we've had that feel the past four seasons.

"All of the things you want to see in your program, Cody did, and he's going to be missed."

Muller's best season came in 2020 when the Rams went 7-1 and lost to rival Souderton in the district championship game. He was also 3-1 against arch-rival Quakertown on Thanksgiving.

"I have a lot of great memories and am going to miss so many things," Muller said. "And whoever gets the job is going to get a great group of kids with a lot of talent and a lot of character."

Pennridge, on Thursday, also named Jason Rapp as its new girls' basketball coach.

Rapp, a Perkasie resident, teaches history at Council Rock South.

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"Jason is a veteran coach in the Suburban One League and coached with Derek Wright at CB East and Council Rock North and was hired as the girls' coach at CR South in 2015," Hegen said.

"He has a lot of experience and is a basketball junkie. We have four starters coming back for next season and we're really excited to have Jason take over the program."

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Pennridge head football coach Cody Muller steps down.