High school football: Rob Oursler ready to inspire Oberlin as new coach

Oberlin didn't have to look far when it conducted the search to find its next football coach. On Wednesday, the Board of Education approved the hiring of Rob Oursler to be the next Phoenix coach. Oursler replaces Kenny Washington, who left the program after the 2025 season. Oursler was one of Washington's assistant coaches the last two seasons. "Excited is an understatement," Oursler said. "I know the energy these kids come with and that energy in infectious. We have great kids here at Oberlin. I'm ready to really get this thing really going in the right direction." Oursler was part of the coaching staff that helped the Phoenix snap its 31-game losing streak with back-to-back wins over Brooklyn and Toledo Woodward. "Shout out to Coach Washington. He did a great job as a coach and a leader on all levels," Oursler said. "My vision is to step into the head coach role and continue to build the program from the ground up. There are some things we need to do at the youth level." Oursler's commitment to the Oberlin community and school district — where he is also a building sub, JV boys basketball coach and flag football coach — made him stand out among the other candidates for the position. "He's rooted in the community and he's raising his family here," Oberlin athletic director Julian Acosta-Gorman said. "The biggest thing about him for us is his relationship with the students and community members. He's very invested in doing whatever he can for the kids." Last season Oberlin started the year with fewer than 20 players in the football program but by season's end grew that number to almost 30. "We have a lot of kids interested in coming back but that only happens if we stay with someone they know and they can trust," Acosta-Gorman said. "We have so much momentum from last year we had to capitalize on that. We needed someone the kids knew and see in the building every day and Rob is that man. He is a role model for the kids in our community." Oursler said he's learned a lot from working with Kurt Russell, who has been coaching the basketball team for nearly two decades and was honored as the 2022 National Teacher of the Year. "Coach Russell is a great man and great role model," Oursler said. "Even though it's a different sport, some of those things still correlate. Consistency, discipline, the intangibles, the fundamentals of sportsmanship in general." Oursler played football at Lorain High School, where he earned all-district honors in 2014, but he has totally committed to building a future in Oberlin. "I'm a Lorain boy through and through but my roots are in Oberlin now," Oursler said. "I applied for the job because I love Oberlin. From the youth up through the seniors, it's a great community. I see the potential that the children in Oberlin have and the talent, it goes on and on. Sometimes they just need that driving force in their lives." The Phoenix will open the 2026 season Aug. 21 when it travels to Wickliffe. Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.