Matt Morgan resigns as Iroquois football coach after 8 seasons with Braves

Iroquois is looking for a new head football coach after Matt Morgan resigned on Monday.

Morgan, a behavioral specialist at Emerson Gridley, just finished his 18th season as a head coach with a record of 117-72. Morgan was a head coach at Mercyhurst Prep from 2004-13 with a record of 78-33 and he went 39-39 in eight years with Iroquois.

“It's time for me to take a step back and not be a head coach,” Morgan said. “I'm not against being an assistant coach down the line and not ruling anything out right now.”

Morgan has been coaching since 1995 when he started a seventh and eighth grade coach. He felt it was time to take a break from the non-stop grind of coaching.

“I have a six-year-old daughter and wife at home and I've been coaching a long time,” Morgan said. “I'm proud of what we did at Iroquois including the second-best season in school history.”

A change in region led to some tough years for the Braves.

“I think when we were put it the 2A league, it was hard to recover from it,” Morgan said. “But the administration, the coaches, the kids and parents have all been great. This is a great facility, and I have nothing but good things to say about Iroquois.”

Morgan also said the pandemic played a part.

“I think last year took a toll on me and truly in my heart I knew this would be my last year before taking a break,” Morgan said. “We had quarantines and cancellations, and it has been a lot to deal with after 20 years of coaching. But I haven't ruled anything out in the future.”