From baskets to sacks: North Ridgeville boys basketball coach Bryan Morgan takes over football program

While running the North Ridgeville boys basketball program the last nine years, the thought never left Bryan Morgan's mind. "I've wanted to be a head football coach since I was 16 years old," Morgan said Wednesday night. "My dad (Chuck Morgan) was the head coach at Oberlin High School and at Firelands High School, so I grew up on the football field. I think I was 4 or 5 years old going to two-a-days with my dad at Oberlin High School. It's something I've always wanted to do, emulate his legacy because he's a great man and inspired me to do the things I want to do." North Ridgeville named Morgan its new football coach Tuesday night after getting approval from the Board of Education. He replaces Luke Durbin, who resigned in November after heading the program for seven years. While hiring the longtime basketball coach to run the football program may raise eyebrows, it was the exact opposite situation years ago when Morgan was hired to become Black River's basketball coach. "As I got hired at Black River, people were saying, 'Why are you going to hire the football guy?'" Morgan said. "I was the guy that hung out with the football coaches and was heavily into the football program, and as I got further into my coaching career with basketball and started having kids, I got further away from football. But it's something that's always been there and this is a great opportunity for me." Morgan played quarterback for Vermilion High, and after graduating in 2000 played the position for the junior varsity team at Baldwin Wallace University as a freshman before becoming the varsity backup as a sophomore. He became a student assistant coach for two years — coaching the JV running backs, quarterbacks and wide receivers — then spent a season as the Yellow Jackets' JV offensive coordinator. Morgan spent five seasons as an assistant for Al Young at Black River — serving as the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, special teams coordinator and quarterbacks coach — and spent a season as offensive coordinator at Brooklyn High. He even spent 2015 coaching Rangers wide receivers as a member of Durbin's staff. "My wife gave birth to our daughter," Morgan said. "It's directly aligned, my daughter is 5 and I stopped coaching football five years ago." Morgan began working for the North Ridgeville school system 11 years ago and now teaches physical education and health at the high school. When he was hired as the boys basketball coach, he still had the desire to coach football. "When I got the job, Jeff Riesen was (the Rangers football coach). Jeff's a great coach and has a lot of experience," Morgan said. "The next year he resigned and I was in my second year (with the basketball team) and was still trying to build the program there and committing myself to that program, so it just wasn't the right time. "I'm not going to do both. After this year I'm going to resign as the head boys basketball coach." In a release announcing the football hiring, North Ridgeville athletic director Don Sparks said Morgan met the qualities they were seeking for the position and superintendent Roxann Ramsey-Caserio said his work on the basketball court factored in to the decision. "I was impressed by Mr. Morgan's football resume," she said. "I also saw firsthand his ability to grow a successful program that is grounded in a positive culture that leads to overall development of well-rounded student-athletes. I thank Mr. Morgan for his tenure as the head varsity basketball coach and I wish him the best of luck as he begins a new journey as the leader of our football program." Morgan has already put a plan in place and has started checking off steps, including hiring a coaching staff that includes "some great people that are enthusiastic and energetic, and they're going to be able to provide a great culture and atmosphere for our kids." Morgan also wants to bring in the eighth-grade players to work with the high school players, fine-tune the youth program and focus on eliminating mistakes and maintaining a positive attitude on and off the field. "These are the things we are going to need to be successful, after that, that's when the success is going to happen on Friday nights," he said. "I can't tell you two, three, four years down the line (we'll be successful), but I can tell you that if those things happen, North Ridgeville is going to be really proud of the football program they're going to have." Contact Shaun Bennett at 329-7137 or sbennett@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @ShaunBennettct on Twitter.