Football families received an email last Friday from Principal Ian Gibbons, S.J. that St. Louis U. High would be parting ways with head football coach Mike Jones, who has led the football team for the past five years, beginning in 2017. 

As head football coach, Jones compiled an 18-28 record over five years. The team went 7-4 last season and made a push deep into the state playoffs, culminating in a district loss to CBC last November. 

Assistant coach and English teacher Adam Cruz has been named interim head coach and will be tasked with leading the team through the 2022 season. 

“The SLUH community thanks Coach Jones for his five years of service to SLUH and SLUH football,” said Athletic Director Chris Muskopf in an official statement. “Our community is focused on supporting Coach Cruz as he leads our transition and the effort to provide positive experiences for our students through participation in football.”

Throughout the past two months, Jones had been coming to campus regularly to coach the team during spring workout sessions after school and preparing to lead the team through summer practices and into next season.

“The most heartbreaking thing was the timing of (Jones departure),” said 2022 senior captain and tight end Zach Ortwerth. “We’ve gone through our whole season, our whole spring, with him, thinking he was gonna be with us. I enjoyed playing for him.”

Players recalled Jones’s dedication to the development of the players and his knowledge of the game. 

“I am going to miss Coach Jones,” said 2022 captain and offensive guard  Matthew Barnes. “Obviously he’s a legend here in Saint Louis. He did a lot for the Rams. But he was just a good guy all around. He always got us hyped up for the games, and he always got really good eighth graders to come to SLUH, because they wanted to play for him.”

Football players remain hopeful that the 2022-2023 season can build off of last year’s success under Jones. Players trust that Cruz and the other remaining coaches will be able to lead the team into this new era of SLUH football. 

“I’m excited to see what Coach Cruz can put together for his coaching staff, and see what we can put together for the season,” said sophomore wide receiver Ryan Wingo. “Coach Cruz is good with people, and just good with everybody. To have that as a head coach will take us a long way.”

Cruz has been coaching SLUH football for the past ten years, and has gained experience as a varsity assistant for Jones. For Cruz, his main focus for the upcoming season is the players as he hopes to build relationships with each of them and ensure that they build relationships with one another. 

“My heart and soul is for the kids,” said Cruz. “I said to the kids at our team meeting on Tuesday that my priority is them first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth, and that will always be the case. I will strive to coach in a way where I realize that this is their team, their season.” 

While ensuring that the players have a good season is a top priority, Cruz also wants to establish a sense of familiarity for the upcoming season. Recognizing that a sudden change like Jones’s departure can be tough on a team, Cruz simply seeks to keep a playbook and play style that the team will be familiar with. 

“With some coaches coming back, we want to make sure that there's some familiarity in the offensive, defensive, and special teams plays,” said Cruz. “And we want to make sure that guys realize that change is part of life and change is hard and change is scary sometimes. But the important thing to remember is at the end of the day football is football.”

Players remain hopeful that this incident will not be a setback for their season. The team continues to have its goals set high as they prepare to make a state championship push again this year, however under new leadership. 

“I think we’ll just have to come together as a group,” said 2022 captain and linebacker Louis Kertz. “This is not a setback at all. I think it’s only going to make us stronger, it’s going to bond us together, and hopefully we will be able to work for a state championship.”