Monroe football coach Dan Lee steps down after 15 total seasons at the school
When Dan Lee would head to Monroe football practice, his 3-year-old daughter wondered where he was going.
“I just wouldn’t see her at all,” he said. “That’s kind of how this profession goes, you know. Whenever I wasn’t around, she’d always be like, ‘Daddy’s at football practice.’
“… It definitely resonated, for sure. That’s like, ‘Wow.’ It’s not an easy thing to do to step away. I’m very blessed and coached a lot of people – 15 years of coaching is a lot and hopefully there’s good things that came from being in our program. But ultimately, the family is number one right now.”
Lee, who also has a 1-year-old son, has resigned as Monroe’s head football coach after eight seasons and was previously an assistant for seven seasons, mostly as an offensive line coach.
“I’m very thankful for the school for giving me an opportunity,” said Lee, who is a health and physical education instructor at Monroe. “The administration has always been outstanding. Very supportive. The teachers, the kids are great kids. It’s a great place. It’s a good job.”
Lee, 38, was named the 2020 Home News Tribune Coach of the Year for guiding Monroe (5-1) to its first winning season since 2014. He was also an assistant on the 2009 team that captured the program’s first sectional title.
Monroe hired Lee as an assistant out of Rowan University, where he was a team captain and named preseason All-America in 2006. Lee twice helped Rowan earn a Division III No. 1 national ranking.
He was also a captain at Toms River North High School and earned second-team all-state honors as a scholastic player in 2003.
Lee knew the current senior class since they were in the fifth grade and said when they were seniors he’d “take a good picture of where I’m at in life. Where the program’s at and make a decision.”
He said he decided before the season that 2022 would be his last year coaching at Monroe. He’s proud that three former Monroe players were on his staff in Nick Isola, Andrew Isola and George Meyers, who he also coached and attended his wedding.
It’s those kinds of relationships with players and coaches that Lee cherishes.
“That’s pretty special,” he said. “You don’t really get it anywhere else but in our sport. So just seeing people go through your program, hopefully absorb some quality characteristics and getting out of high school. Going to college, being successful people and coming back, giving back. Like that’s what it’s about.
“And I realize that more as a head coach. If you say one or two things to somebody and it alters their life, that’s super powerful. It’s more than money can buy – to be influential on somebody in a positive way is pretty special. Hopefully, we did that.”
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Big Central Conference NJ football: Monroe coach Dan Lee steps down
