NORWOOD PARK — Taft High School has a new football coach — for the second time in two years, Principal Mark Grishaber said Tuesday.
Grishaber picked John Tsarouchas, a 2002 Taft graduate and valedictorian of his class, to lead the Eagles' football team.
Tsarouchas, who has been an assistant coach at Taft for six years, will replace former head coach Dan Paplaczyk, who resigned in November.
Paplaczyk, whose wife just gave birth to their first child, resigned to be a stay-at-home father, Grishaber said.
"I'm not even mad at him," Grishaber said of Paplaczyk's decision to step down. "Sometimes, family has to come first."
The Taft Eagles notched a 2-7 record during the 2015 fall football season, failing to win a single game in its conference.
Paplaczyk replaced computer and information technology teacher Matt Walsh, who coached the Eagles' football team for 11 years and won the Big Shoulders Conference in 2013 with a 7-3 record, advancing to the state playoffs.
Tsarouchas, known as Coach T to players, graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism after growing up across the street from the Norwood Park high school, Grishaber said.
Tsarouchas said he was thrilled to take over the team, calling coaching the most rewarding professional experience he has had.
Although he made Northwestern's football team, Tsarouchas never played in a game, records show.
Tsarouchas plans to complete his social studies and English student teaching requirements this spring at Taft, and could be hired in the fall, Grishaber said. High school football coaches receive a $6,000 stipend, according to district records.
Grishaber has made no secret of his goal to transform the Eagles into football champions, spurring the best athletes on the Far Northwest Side to attend the Norwood Park school, 6530 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.
Tsarouchas' first game as head coach will come under the bright lights at Soldier Field, as the Eagles taken on the Mount Caramel Caravan at a time and date to be announced.
"It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and my players and I are looking forward to the experience and the game," Tsarouchas said.
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