Boons
Boonsboro plays North this week. A score to watch.
There's a thread on the MOCO board on the Brunswick head coach being removed from the job before last week's game. Some think it may have lead to the loss. Apparently he is done for the season over something he said the week before the North game.
Frederick News-Post:
Jerry Smith will not return to coach Brunswick football this season; FCPS provides no reason for removal
BRUNSWICK — Jerry Smith will not coach the Brunswick High football team for the rest of the season, according to parents of the team’s players.
Players and the rest of the coaching staff were informed of the decision to remove Smith by Frederick County Public Schools at Monday’s practice. The news was delivered to them by Brunswick principal Eric Schwarzenegger and assistant principal Laurie Atwell.
Smith’s status with the team beyond this season is unclear. A Brunswick graduate, he was in the middle of his eighth season with the team, having led it to a 48-28 record and trips to the Class 1A state quarterfinals in 2021 and state semifinals in 2022.
Equally
unclear is the school system’s reason for removing a coach who is popular and well-regarded in the community.
Smith did not coach the team last week in a 28-24 loss at North Hagerstown. Assistant Rich Parry took his place.
Smith last coached the team in a 27-26 victory at Walkersville on Oct. 10, one of the Railroaders’ biggest wins in years that raised their overall record to 5-1.
When asked about Smith’s status following the Walkersville victory, FCPS cited its longstanding policy of not publicly commenting on personnel matters.
On Tuesday night, FCPS administrators, including Supervisor of Athletics and Extracurricular Activities Kevin Kendro, Brunswick athletic director Kirk Meehan, Communications Manager Brandon Oland and Schwarzenegger, met with the parents of the players, as requested, in the school’s auditorium to hear and address their concerns about Smith’s sudden removal.
But the parents came away from that meeting largely unsatisfied and still unclear as to why Smith was barred from coaching their children for the rest of this season.
“Nothing has been answered,” said Jarrett Houck, the father of the Railroaders’ star senior quarterback, Ethan Houck. “All they can tell us is it’s a personnel matter. So, they can’t answer 99 percent of our questions.”
Some parents walked out of the meeting early, visibly upset by what they heard.
Tony Baffoe, who has two sons on the team, came away wondering why they even had the meeting.
“Tell me something. Tell me what he did,” Baffoe said. “
If you can’t answer my questions, then what’s the point? We are emotional because our kids are involved.”
Following the meeting, Kendro could not be reached for comment. Oland declined to comment, as did Smith, who did not attend, and Meehan.
Longtime assistant Scott Tilles will serve as the acting head coach going forward. Parry desired to return to his job as the team’s offensive line coach.
Smith, a social studies teacher at Brunswick High, missed a game last season for reasons that were never disclosed by FCPS. Parry coached the team in his place, and the Railroaders, who were unbeaten at the time, fell at home to Walkersville 55-16 on Oct. 6.
The following week, Smith returned and Brunswick beat North Hagerstown 48-14 on its way to a 7-3 season.
The parent and player support for Smith is overwhelming. There is a petition circulating online calling for his reinstatement that had attracted nearly 600 signatures by late Tuesday night.
“Any other parents in there, I can’t speak for. But I can speak for my child,” Jarrett Houck said. “He’s had a relationship with this coach for five to six years. He’s had a relationship with him as a mentor, as a coach, as a friend. That’s essentially been taken away from him and all of his teammates for what
all appearances show is a personal vendetta.”
Brunswick (5-2) is scheduled to face Middletown (6-1) at home at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
The parents weren’t optimistic that Tuesday night’s meeting will lead to Smith’s reinstatement.
“Our voices, I guess, were heard [by FCPS],” said Kelly Young, who has a son on the team. “
They say they care about the students, and they are saying he can’t coach us for the rest of the season. It doesn’t make sense to me.”
