I never thought that the NYCHSFL would have a coaching carousel like you see in college or the NFL, but it seems like the last two to three years this has been the case. Maybe this is the new norm, but it makes for more content than anticipated for the offseason.

Anyways, as you all may have heard, Seann Farrell has been appointed by Fordham Prep to lead the football program. Coach Farrell joins a program that seems to be in limbo. Appointed in 2018, Pat Deane led the team admirably, the Rams were 35-42 in his seven seasons from 2018-2025 (FP did not play football in 2020). Coach Deane had a lot of challenges during his tenure working against him. First, he followed Coach Gorynski, who led the Fordham Prep program to a lot of success over the years. He was 127-107 in his 22 seasons at the helm of the Prep. During the mid 2000s, and early 2010s, Mr. Gorynski led the program to ‘AA’ championship appearances in 2002, 2004, 2006, and won a ‘AA’ championship in 2011, going 55-36 from 2004-2011 while competing in the ‘AA’ and ‘AAA’ division during that time. After a mid 2010s slump, he finished 30-15 from 2014-2017, winning an ‘A’ title in 2014 and going to a ‘AA’ title game in 2017.

Taking over a team that was led by the same coach for 22 seasons is hard, and the program essentially hit the reset button in 2018, only for the Covid pandemic to hit just two seasons later, derailing the 2020 season. Because of this, the Rams had essentially to reset their football program twice in 3 seasons. The Rams were competitive through all this time, mostly owed to Mr. Deane’s steady leadership at the helm.

Coach Farrell takes over a program that is has been playing football since essentially the dawn of football with the first Fordham Prep-Xavier game being played in 1887. Fordham Prep is 162-149 in the last 30 years (29 seasons) with two NYCHSFL Championships (‘AA’ in 2011, and ‘A’ in 2014) out of six appearances (2002, 2004, 2006, and 2017). Perhaps more importantly, the Rams were 17-12 in the Turkey Bowl game during those 29 seasons. Coach Farrell is a 2001 Delbarton school graduate, and was on the NJ State Championship team in 1998. In college, he went to Fordham University, where the Rams won a Patriot League title in 2002. After graduating from Fordham University in 2005, he joined the faculty at Seton Hall Prep, where he served as assistant coach in various capacities for their football team until 2022. He joined the faculty at Fordham Prep in 2022 as a math teacher. He has been a member of the football program since he joined the Prep, bringing with him championship pedigree and an outside perspective. Where Mr. Gorynski and Mr. Deane were Jesuit educated in high school (Gorynski being a Xavier graduate, and Deane being a Fordham Prep graduate), Coach Farrell comes from a Catholic school background, but is not an alumnus of a Jesuit High School. I think Prep alumni will be looking for Coach Farrell to continue their success against Xavier, but also compete for ‘AA-1’ championships. The school itself has poured a significant amount of money into their athletic complex, which renewed their intramural gym and weight room, and they are currently planning on renovating their locker room spaces.

What do you think of this move by the school in the Bronx?