Lexington's Taylor Gerhardt steps down as football coach
LEXINGTON — Taylor Gerhardt was only away from coaching football for two years when he returned to take over Lexington in 2021.
What he didn't realize was just how much had changed in those two years. Coaching football was already a full-time gig but, lately, it's become that and then some as each minute of the day is dedicated to the job.
It only took Gerhardt, who doubles as the junior high principal at Lex, one year to realize he simply couldn't devote enough time in the day to everything he wanted to. After one season back, Gerhardt again has stepped away from the game.
“When I took over this year, I fully planned on being here until I retired,” Gerhardt said. “I told the team, I built the program on four things — effort, brotherhood, family and sacrifice. The effort and sacrifice for my football family, personal family and school family, there simply weren’t enough pieces to go around. Things have changed personally for my family that requires my full attention.”
Gerhardt spent five seasons at the helm of the Minutemen from 2014-2018. The team went 0-10 his first season as coach, before he finally saw the fruits of his labor with a 6-4 record in 2015, the first winning season for Lex since 2009. He returned to the program in 2021 and the Minutemen went 4-7, making the playoffs before being bounced in the first round.
Under Gerhardt, Lex had a streak of two playoff appearances in three years, including a trip to the regional championship game in 2016 when the Minutemen went 9-4 before falling 19-0 to Toledo Central Catholic in the title game.
Gerhardt followed that up by piloting the Minutemen to the playoffs again in 2018 as Ohio's Mr. Football, Cade Stover, led the Minutemen to a 7-5 record with a playoff victory.
Gerhardt was 24-31 in his five seasons with Lexington before returning last season, moving his career mark to 28-38.
The time has come to step away and refocus, he said.
“You can live life as good as you possibly can and as best you can and do everything right, but things will always change and you have to adapt,” Gerhardt said. “Being able to adapt means something had to give and, unfortunately, that had to be football. I could not dedicate the time, effort and sacrifice that the football family deserves.”
With the increasing demand placed upon high school coaches, Gerhardt said the time he wanted to dedicate to the football program just wasn't available. There simply weren't enough hours in the day.
“Any head coach knows, it is an all-in and then some deal,” Gerhardt said. “At this time, I have to focus on being the leader of my family more so than football. I did not anticipate this and I was surprised at the revelation of when I am planning during the offseason and the universe was throwing rocks at my head to make me pay attention to something.
"Thank God I was smart enough, this time, to pay attention. I am sad. I love these kids, and my staff is second to none. I love this school, but it's family first.”
When he started feeling guilty about taking a weekend off to spend time with his family when all he could think about was what he and his coaching staff could do to help his team reach its maximum potential, Gerhardt knew it was time to step away.
“The hours are grueling,” he said. “The in-season hours are seven days a week whether you are in the football office or not. You are always dealing with something, as all head coaches know. Then, if one program is doing X, Y and Z to get better, you have to do it, too, to make sure you are competing at that level.
"Over the years that changed, and it is a full-time, year-round commitment. My wife always jokes that when June comes, she loses her husband until the end of November and unfortunately that is true.”
Gerhardt will shift his focus to his duties as the Lexington Middle School principal and as a father and husband even though football will always be in his blood.
jfurr@gannett.com
740-244-9934
Twitter: @JakeFurr11
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Taylor Gerhardt steps down as Lexington football coach
