Lakewood High Football Coach Resigns After 1 Season

LAKEWOOD, OH — Lakewood High School head football coach Tom Hannan resigned this week after only one season. Hannan led the Rangers to a 1-9 season in his lone year as the leader of Lakewood High's varsity team. The Lakewood Board of Education has yet to accept his resignation.

In his resignation letter, Hannan said, "The job requires a lot of time in the community outside of football coaching itself and with me living an hour away it has become impossible to do the job like it needs to be done to get this great program where it needs to be."

The Board of Education will meet Monday, where they are expected to formally accept the resignation. Lakewood Athletic Director Sean Jackson said the district would begin the search for a new head coach "soon."

Hannan replaced Mike Ribar as head coach in Feb. 2017. Hannan had extensive football coaching experience prior to joining Lakewood. He spent six years as head coach at Crestwood High School in Mantua, where he earned the most wins of any coach in school history and twice earned Akron Touchdown Club Coach of the Year honors. He also served as athletic director for four years while at Crestwood from 1994-2010.

Hannan was also hired as a paraprofessional in the district. He said in his letter resigning his post as head football coach that he plans to continue on as a study hall monitor and will keep his intramural weightlifting contract until the district can replace him.

"I know that I gave it everything I had and that there has been a significant amount of positive changes already and I hope the next coach can continue the progression toward turning this program around," Hannan wrote.

Despite dropping down a division in the 2017-2018 season, to Division II, Lakewood's lone win on the season came against Westlake on Oct. 13. The Rangers pulled out a tight game against the Demons, 28-25.

Following the announcement of the school being dropped a division, Jackson said the move to Division II should increase the team's chances at making the playoffs.

A spokesperson for Lakewood Schools said it would issue an official statement after the Board's Monday meeting.

Photo from Rick Uldricks, Patch