Chaminade Head Football Coach Doug Taylor Stepping Down After 2012

Earlier this season, when he was hospitalized during season opener against Rockwood Summit, Doug Taylor's players tweets suggested this would be his last year coaching football.

Late this week, he confirmed it to Patch and talked about it after the Red Devils lost 28-0 loss to De Smet Friday.

With 40 years of high school football coaching, including the last 16 at Chaminade under his belt where he's had the likes of , , among scores of players, he said he just felt it was time and that he'd had "a great run."

"We always got dominated I think by the De Smets and the SLUHs and the Vianneys and the CBCs and I think in the last 16 years we’ve closed that gap dramatically. I think our kids learn how to play hard. I’ll miss it. You know I love being able to compete against the best of the best and these are the best of the best so I’ll definitely miss it."

The decision was news to his cross-town adversary at De Smet.

"I love Doug, he’s a great guy, he’s been great for the school and the sport," said De Smet Head Coach Pay Mahoney. "Our rivalry has been hard-nosed and if he doesn’t come back I’ll sorely miss him because he’s a great guy."

Taylor said he made the decision early in the season to keep himself from changing his mind regardless of how his team performed in 2012. He plans to stay at Chaminade.