FOOTBALL

Former Kimberly standout Plucker hired as new head football coach at Fond du Lac

Fond du Lac Reporter

FOND DU LAC – When Sam Plucker was playing football at Kimberly High School, he never imagined one day coaching for one of the school's biggest rivals.

That's exactly what has happened for Plucker, who was hired Tuesday as the new head football coach at Fond du Lac High School. He takes over for Dakota Hermes, who finished the season as the interim head coach after Steven Jorgensen stepped down Sept. 13.

Plucker has been an assistant coach at Fond du Lac the last two seasons. Hermes will return to his role as an assistant and defensive coordinator.

“I definitely didn’t see myself coaching at Fond du Lac when I was in high school, but now looking back if I could tell my 18-year-old self that I'd just say, 'Hey, be patient, trust the process and take a great opportunity when you see them," Plucker said. "Being rivals in high school you never thought of being part of Fond du Lac, but now that I’m here and I meet the community, meet the coaches, meet the players, this is an absolutely great place with great people and there's no place I’d rather be.”

Sam Plucker is the new head football coach at Fond du Lac High School

Plucker teaches leadership and modified physical education at Fond du Lac High School. He also serves as the team leader for the physical education department.

“Coach Plucker will be an excellent leader for our Cardinal football program,” athletic director David Michalkiewicz said. “His experience at both the high school and collegiate level will help him to continue to elevate our program at all levels.”

The 24-year-old Plucker graduated from Kimberly in 2015. He was a three-year letterwinner and two-year starter at linebacker for the Papermakers and a key member of their back-to-back state championship teams in 2013 and 2014.

He started his collegiate football career at NCAA Division I Montana State as a redshirt in 2015 before transferring to Augustana University. He played two seasons at Augustana, finishing with 17 tackles in 22 games.

Plucker was an assistant coach at UW-Oshkosh from 2018 to 2020 before joining the Fond du Lac staff. He credits playing under Kimberly head coach Steve Jones, along with learning from UWO coaches Pat Cerroni, Craig Stenbroten and Luke Venne, with inspiring his coaching career.

“I’ve just been lucky and blessed to be in positions to work with great people who have been successful who have taken their time and energy to tell me everything they know about the game to instill those lessons in me," he said. "At a young age it’s a big task, but I’m extremely excited for it and I know the mentors that I have had have put me on the path for success.”

Plucker said his familiarity with the Fox Valley Association as a player and an assistant coach will help as he transitions to the head coaching role, but he knows it will still be a big jump.

“Definitely a whole different ballgame being the head coach," he said. "Being on the sidelines as a player for Coach Steve Jones is a whole different ballgame than coaching against him. So there will definitely be a learning process. The FVA is one of the best conferences, if not the best conference, in the state. This isn’t going to be a 'me' thing. It’s going to be a 'we' thing.”

The Cardinals finished 4-3 in the Fox Valley Association and 6-5 overall this past season. They beat Verona 31-13 in the first round of the Division 1 playoffs before losing to Sun Prairie 35-20.

Only seven seniors will graduate from last year's team, so Plucker inherits an experienced and hungry squad.

"It's very exciting," he said. "There’s a great group of kids coming back who have taken on leadership roles. Not having a ton of seniors we had to have a lot of juniors step up, a lot of sophomores step up, and that experience was great. We definitely had some struggles this year but that’s only going to make them tougher.”

Contact Mike Sherry at (920) 996-7244 or msherry@postcrescent.com. Follow him on Twitter @MikeSherry14.